Quitzau, M. 2008: PhD-afhandling. Institut for Produktion og Ledelse, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet; Det Biovidenskabelige Fakultet for Fødevarer, Veterinærmedicin og Naturressourcer, Københavns Universitet og Afdeling for Systemanalyse, Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser, Aarhus Universitet. 139 s.
Summary
This project takes up the challenge of trying to understand why it is so difficult for radical, sustainable technologies to manifest themselves in society today, especially since sustainability has become an important issue. A starting point for creating such understanding can be to examine the systemization that has gradually developed in society, and which must be fundamentally changed in order for innovative solutions to be accepted. Specifically, the project focuses on the influence that existing rationales and standards in society have on the potential for more radical technological solutions. The project studies a specific case: the recycling of human urine and faeces, which comprises a radical break with the existing water-flushing system.
The present method of handling human urine and faeces, which has dominantly been the water-flushing system, usually perceives of and treats these substances as waste products. Since this system became established in the 1900s, this perception has not changed in any fundamental way, although it has been acknowledged that the water-flushing system has problematic environmental consequences and several attempts have been made to develop the system in order to minimize pollution. In recent decades, there has been a growing demand for a more radical change than just technological optimization in the way of handling these substances. Such radical change implies implementation of an alternative toilet system that makes use of such alternative solutions as composting toilets or urine-separating toilets, which separate these substances at the source and re-use them as nutrients. Such radical change is not easy, however, and the current rate of implementation of alternative toilets indicates that it is difficult to replace water-flushing toilets. One of the main reasons for this is that existing standards and rationales in society in general set certain conditions for potential paths of development, and these obstruct the implementation of alternative toilets.
The aim of the project is to analyse how societal development influences the potential for alternative toilets, with emphasis on the significance of the existing water-flushing system and the actual tendencies observed in relation to Danish bathrooms.
To understand this resistance to change, this project examines the dynamics behind the societal development in both a macro- and micro-oriented perspective. This approach is inspired by the 'Multi-level Perspective', which perceives innovation as an outcome of multiple driving forces. In the macro-oriented perspective, focus is on the development of the water-flushing system, which is a stable system with deep roots in society, and how this development has contributed to shaping certain conditions and limitations in relation to the potential for alternative toilets. This aspect of the project deals with the way in which historical developments can carry with them paths of development that are difficult to change. In the micro-oriented perspective, focus is on the actual development of bathrooms in Denmark. This focus has been chosen, because there has recently been a tendency to design and use bathrooms in new ways. This aspect of the project deals with rationales as dynamic entities that contribute to changes in the conditions for the development of toilets. The two perspectives reflect different systemic views of toilet solutions, and point to driving forces from different dimensions of the system. One of the project's basic ideas is to view the toilet's potential future development in light of the rationales and standards taking shape within its systemic network.
The study is based on a range of methodological approaches to capture both the general process over time and the more specific and contextual connections in which current tendencies are formed. The primary methods are literature studies of the technological development, a review of the magazine 'Bo Bedre' (Live Better), and six in-depth qualitative interviews. The secondary methods are observations and analyses of statistical material.
The macro-oriented study of the development of the water-flushing system shows that a water-flushing ideal gradually developed that shaped the dominant path of development. During this process, rationales of cleanliness and hygiene became central. In the light of such rationales, human urine and faeces became characterized as dangerous filth, which it was necessary to control. This development was especially influenced by a sanitary reform that gained momentum during the 18th century and promoted the idea of implementing a technique for handling these substances within a closed centralized system. This centralized system presupposed the implementation of water-flushing toilets, thus, supporting a wide distribution of this technological artefact. This development not only necessitated specific physical structures in society; it also contributed to shaping specific ideas and rationales about how to handle and associate with human urine and faeces. For example, the treatment of these substances became imbued with symbolic meanings, such as the perception of water as a means of cleansing, locking the door for privacy, or using euphemisms to establish distance from the act of defecating. This development is especially interesting, as it represents a self-reinforcing process in that it furthers its own stability. Thus, the development of the water-flushing system has been locked onto a specific path determined by its development process, which has set specific conditions for future development.
The micro-oriented study of the on-going development of Danish bathrooms illustrates another, more dynamic type of process. In contrast with the water-flushing system, the bathroom is currently characterized by shifts in the rationales that dominate the meaning and design of the room. Also in this room, the rationales of cleanliness and hygiene represent an important element of development. In the beginning of the 1900s, bathrooms were typically characterized by uniformity, influenced by moral ideas of hygiene. However, this has changed in recent decades as the design and use of bathrooms have come to represent a number of different rationales. This suggests that the development of the bathroom is not held in the same tight grip as the water-flushing system. The development of the bathroom has been characterized by growing individual interest in consumption, which has contributed to setting off a continuous configuration process. Especially ideas of convenience and well-being have become important guidelines for the meaning of bathrooms. These ideas downplay notions of sterility. In this on-going reconfiguration, the bathroom tends toward a kind of pleasure room, where a person can relax, pamper herself and enjoy a moment of solitude. Such changes in bathroom ideas should be perceived in the light of general developments in society, where the individual experiences a more hectic life, shifts in working conditions and so on. This indicates that some conditions for the development of the toilet – seen in relation to the bathroom as a whole – are now in the process of being reformed as new rationales and meanings come into play. This indicates that seeds of change are constantly being formed.
The potential for alternative toilets is influenced by both the development in the water-flushing system and the actual development in bathrooms. The current rationales in play in relation to the toilet and bathroom are problematic in several ways in relation to a break-through for alternative toilets. First, the fact that alternative toilets do not live up to the current standards of the water-flushing toilet represents a problem. It seems especially difficult to give up the idea of using water in handling urine and faeces. Even an optimization of existing alternative technologies will have difficulties in meeting the requirements of existing standards, since fundamental differences will persist. A second problem is that the bathroom's development points towards more resource-demanding tendencies, where luxury and pleasure are of central importance. This makes it difficult to imagine a development toward alternative technologies that do not harmonize with current ideas about aesthetic and luxurious bathrooms.
It is therefore difficult, based on this project, to imagine that a break-through for alternative toilets should be imminent, simply because society develops according to preconditions that are not in accordance with sustainable ideals. A break-through would necessitate that current standards and rationales develop in more sustainable directions. However, it has so far been politically undesirable to question existing values in society, although rationales do represent historical constructs that have shifted significantly (over long time periods). An important lesson from the sanitary reform – promoting strong rationales of cleanliness and hygiene – is that public authorities play an important role in actively promoting new, desired rationales and standards in society. Today, as sustainability has gained an important position on the societal agenda, important steps have been taken in the environmental area. But at the same time, it is a problem that sustainability has not succeeded in breaking through as a basic rationale for how individuals live their lives, which is able to set more radically different standards. Alternative toilets imply a radical transformation of society as a whole, since both material and immaterial structures would have to be based on different basic rationales. Such a transformation takes time and demands many lesser shifts, but a real possibility exists for the present system to move gradually in the right direction.
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