Upgrade your toilets.

Understand that I am not saying you should replace all the toilets in your home right now, but when it comes time to replace one, there are some great eco-friendly options available.

I have four toilets in my house. Three of them are low-flow. We purchased the first one to replace the one in the daycare, as it gets flushed so many times a day- lots of times consecutively as well. We have been so pleased with it that we replaced two others with similar low-flow models. The low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush versus the 6 gallons in traditional toilets. Lucky for us and the environment, federal standards now mandate toilets use a MAX 1.6 gallons a flush. That saves us money and the environment much unnecessary water use.

When looking for an eco-friendly toilet, you may notice a WaterSense label. This label tells you it is part of the EPA’s WaterSense program. Any toilet that bears this label is 20% more efficient than the 1.6 gallon low-flow toilet.

Another eco-friendly option is a dual flush toilet. This toilet has a push button that allows you to flush .8 gallons for liquid waste and another push button to flush 1.6 gallons for solid waste. This would be an excellent idea for my daycare. I will definitely look into this if I need to replace my low-flow toilet at some point. I have had to make minimal repairs to it so far, and I have used it for over ten years.

If you really want an extreme option, you should check out the compostable or waterless toilets. You would need to check with your city about a permit for one though, as some cities will not allow them. There is also a sink/toilet combination that is very interesting that could work in really compact areas.

Whenever it comes time to replace your toilet, do some research, and see which eco-friendly option might work for you. If you are replacing an old traditional 6 gallon flush toilet, you will already be making a positive change for the environment and to your water bill.