The Story of the Waterless Urinal - Part 1 - Idea and Development

The concept of a waterless urinal was the brainchild of German engineer Ditmar Gorges

, who believed that a sterile liquid such as urine needed no flushing - it would find its way down the drain anyway. He was confident that his invention would be instrumental in saving thousand of gallons of water each year. All he needed was someone rich and influential to back his idea. Little did he know that his benefactor was sitting just a few hundred miles away in his posh LA office.

James Krug's illustrious career in show business started twenty years back. He had tasted success, serving in leadership positions at Disney, where he was Vice President in the eighties and subsequently operated a distribution company with fellow Disney members through the nineties. But he wanted to try something new and was probing different entrepreneurial avenues.

In 1999, he was introduced to Ditmar Gorges by a mutual acquaintance. The idea of a waterless urinal piqued his interest and the environment implications of this invention were immediately apparent to him. In a world where the importance of preserving natural resources couldn't be emphasized enough, Krug realized that he had stumbled onto something special, an invention that could revolutionize the way in which precious water can be saved. This was the beginning of a business collaboration.

California was a great place to start the business, where 1/5th of electricity was consumed by pumping water and such an invention could contribute significantly towards the environment. Krug and Gorges christened their new company Falcon Waterfree Technologies, spreading the message around to as many people as possible. But they needed a good selling point; a San-Diego company had been trying to sell waterless urinals for the past few years with no success.

Krug came up with a brilliant idea - the real money would come from marketing the replaceable cartridges that would be placed in the urinal's waterless receptacles. The plastic cartridge developed by Gorges contained a liquid sealant, which would allow water to pass through, but trap sewer gases underneath and prevent them from escaping outside. All this without a trickle of water processed - an answer to the conventional urinals where the water pools generated after every flush would trap the sewer gases.

The $40 cartridge, which required replacement after seven thousand uses, was a sure shot profit maker. Krug's strategy was to sell the urinal at a low cost and compel the customers into purchasing the cartridges. He found a lot of investors willing to risk their money on this new invention, with cable television magnate Marc Nathanson making a big investment in Falcon in 2000. By 2001, production of the waterless urinal, called U1P began. Subsequently, former Vice President and environmentalist Al Gore came on board as Falcon Waterfree's advisor. In 2006, first eBay President Jeff Skoll also invested a significant amount in the company.

Krug and Gorges were understandably ecstatic about this invention - there had been no latest advancements to speak of in urinal technology and a waterless urinal would be the first bold step. But they had not anticipated the bumpy road ahead.

The Story of the Waterless Urinal - Part 1 - Idea and Development

By: Steve R. Nicola

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