Toilets are installed at the Saint Vincent de Hendaya College in the name of the ecological transition
In March, the classical toilets were removed from the private Catholic school of Hendaya and the dry toilets were built. This change is part of a more general project: the remains of dry toilets are added to the compost of the dining room and take advantage of everything in the pedagogical garden that they have in the center and in the services of the towns of Hendaia and Biriatou, as well as in the Senpere School of Agriculture. You would also want to include a gardener or farmer in that ecological loop.
"We were at the school in Saint-Germé, in the department of Gers, where 12 years ago they are using dry toilets. It took us less than ten minutes to be convinced," says Philippe Bancon, director of the San Bixente College of Hendaya. See, learn and repeat: in this private Catholic school, which has 400 students since March, they also have their aseos.En the report Un collège adoptte des toilettes sèches avec succès del medio Reporterre can read the details of it.
In particular, they are toilets of two levels and the second level works in the case of menstruation or poop. They also have a forced ventilation system that works through a solar panel to prevent bad smells. All of this is collected in a den of 12 m3, which will be emptied four or five times a year. From the first moment, everything is thought and drawn: they add the toilet to the compost containing the leftovers of the dining room and then extend it into their pedagogical garden, transforming what gives them the vegetable garden in the kitchen. Thus, students, teachers and staff at the center are guaranteeing an interesting ecological loop. Due to their excess compost, they are also in contact with other local agents: "We have a participation with the peoples of Biriatu and Hendaia, as well as with the Senpere School of Agriculture. Now we'd like to put a horticulturist or a farmer in the loop," says the center director.
The basis for this change is the ecological one. In addition to reducing pollution, water consumption also decreases: It is estimated that 500,000 litres less have been spent. As it could not be otherwise, dry toilets have educational benefits when dealing with topics such as water, ecology or food in the classroom, as they have a concrete example in view.
Within a general change
The idea of dry toilets is part of a broader project that, from the ecological perspective, undertakes a series of changes. As you can read in the Reporterre medium, the mind and determination of the director Bancon has brought with it a series of actions that go in favor of the environment – such as dry toilets, finishing paper napkins in the dining room, the hobby of plastic in the classrooms, the compost with the remains of the dining room, the pedagogical garden, etc.
The update of the Navarra Energy Plan goes unnoticed. The Government of Navarre made this public and, at the end of the period for the submission of claims, no government official has explained to us what their proposals are to the citizens.
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