Advancements in Toilet Tech for Music Festivals.

One of the most feared features of any large multi-day music festival held on a temporary site is using the toilet facilities. The unpleasant smells, overflowing waste and long queues are common sights on any festival site. What new developments and technology are festival organisers looking at to improve the temporary toilet facilities provided for their events.

Festival organisers are faced with multiple challenges when planning their provision of temporary toilet facilities. They have to balance budget availability with sustainability whilst making the facilities as pleasant as possible for festival-goers. In addition, the number of available toilets is often regulated depending on the number of festival-goers with a common ratio being 50 people per toilet. Can advancements in computer technology and chemical engineering bring a more sustainable and convenient experience for festival-goers?

Popular Sanitation Solutions.
One of the most popular toilet installations are the traditional portable type usually provided with recirculating chemical flush systems. They are prone to blockages and overflows with corresponding adverse odors, however, they are a low-cost option. Composting toilets (sometimes referred to as the long drop toilet) have been a more eco-friendly solution where human waste is turned into nutrient rich compost. Other developments have seen more use of urine separation and low water vacuum systems which reduces the need for flushing water. The use of dry toilet solutions are more prominent where organisers are more interested in replacing harmful chemicals with sawdust or other dry media to reduce odors.

Sustainability.
Organisers have comprehensive sustainability objectives for their events, and this always includes managing waste. This has resulted in an increase in the dry composting toilet installation to replace the traditional portable chemical flushing toilet. This chemical free approach helps mix human waste with carbon rich materials ultimately facilitating aerobic decomposition. A less complex eco-friendly installation are the vacuum flush systems that use no flushing water and they may be more convenient to manage on a festival site. Part of building sustainability credentials for waste management is how it’s disposed of. Human waste should be collected and sent to treatment centres for the creation of biogas energy and the recovery of nutrients to be used in fertilizer. Liquid separating toilet systems can also help with waste processing after collection.

Comfort and Convenience.
For festival-goers opting for VIP packages the expectation for a more luxurious toilet experience can drive the type of installation used. It is not uncommon for these VIP toilets to consist of a self-contained temporary toilet unit that has running water, flushing toilets and enhanced ventilation with air conditioning. These VIP units are often the first to use new technology that is becoming more widely available and can include features like sensor activated running water, soap dispensers and flushing systems. This makes the toilet experience more hygienic and with hands free operation.

New Developments.
The toilet facilities available to the majority of festival-goers are likely to see an increased use of sensor activated technology to open/close doors, initiate flushing or other disposal mechanisms. Computer tech is also being used by organisers to monitor fill levels of tanks, usage of units and to indicate when supplies of toilet paper or soap are low. Organiser’s teams can be despatched to deal with these issues as they arise negating the need for constant monitoring by staff. Toilet tech is also emerging to provide data and information to festival-goers on the status of facilities indicating wait times, availability and directing them to those with the shortest queue. The developing engineering of toilet facilities is also progressing rapidly with more hybrid systems being available where vacuum, composting and digestion is processed on site. Microbial fuel cells are an emerging experimental tech that uses urine to generate small amounts of electricity but are currently not widely available. Self-cleaning systems are increasingly being used where a combination of UV lighting or automated spraying systems disinfect all surfaces making the facilities more hygienic. New innovations can take time to filter into more widespread use and organisers will always consider the cost benefit of implementing new tech toilet facilities balanced with sustainability and festival-goer experience.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by emkanicepic via Pixabay

<< Back to articles