Would you stop flushing if your toilet water was blue?
Researchers at the University of Surrey tested a water-saving method involving blue-tinted pellets that mask odors in unflushed toilets. The study found that social stigma and hygiene concerns are the primary barriers to adopting this water-saving habit.
Why it matters
Understanding the psychological barriers to sustainable behaviors is crucial for developing effective environmental policies during water shortages.
As New Zealand heads towards what could be a drier-than-usual summer, here's an unusual way we might save water - stop flushing the toilet quite so often. The old water-saving advice goes: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.” The problem is that many of us find an unflushed toilet really unpleasant. Now researchers at the University of Surrey have investigated a surprisingly simple solution - a pellet that dissolves in the toilet, turns the water blue and masks the smell after you wee. Their results found that the biggest barrier to flushing less might not actually be habit, it might be worrying about what other people think.
In the study the researchers recruited 20 adults and gave each a dispenser containing 70 Wizso pellets. For one week, participants used the pellets at home as part of their normal bathroom routines.
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