Earlier this summer, a major new attraction was grabbing headlines at Mount Rainier National Park in Ashford, WA. What was it? You guessed it…a toilet.
Whether it was the highly publicized ribbon-cutting ceremony, the price tag ($70,000), or the fact that the toilet was donated by its manufacturer (Toyo Kogyo) and a popular Mount Rainier drink producer (Morinaga Milk Company), the celebrity composting commode has been doo-ing doing its sister toilet in Mount Fuji proud since early June. Representatives from Mount Rainier National Park and the Japanese non-profit organization Groundwork Mishima activated the new “bio toilet” at Cougar Rock Campground on Monday, June 9, 2008.
The high-tech toilet was donated to the park last fall by Groundwork Mishima, which works with citizens, local governments, and businesses to address environmental issues and promote volunteerism in Japan. The group is active at Mount Fuji, which has a “Sister Mountain” relationship with Mount Rainier National Park.
“We are pleased to continue our long standing relationship with the people of Japan,” said Superintendent Dave Uberuaga (pictured above, along with representatives from Groundwork Mishima and the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association). “This bio toilet will be a practical contribution toward our goals of environmental stewardship and sustainable design in Mount Rainier National Park.”
The toilet was installed in late August of last year with the help of students from the Japanese Volunteers-in-Parks Association, who have been contributing volunteer services at Mount Rainier since 1993. Due to the lateness of the season, the toilet was not activated last fall. Its unique design uses cedar chips and natural composting techniques to operate efficiently with very little water and with no odor.
Photo courtesy of Mount Rainier Volunteers.
(Apologies for the potty puns in this post. It’s a Friday Funny, after all, isn’t it?)
