Meet green bacteria, airport’s eco-friendly toilet cleaners

Mumbai: Not that they were desperately seeking employment, but certain groups of

bacteria

and other microorganisms have found jobs at Mumbai airport. The microscopic lot was recruited two months ago after it was found to be better qualified to clean urinals, toilets, floors and other surfaces throughout Terminal 2. Unlike acids and alcohol reagents used in conventional chemicals, which release asthmagens, carcinogens and ozone-depleting compounds into the atmosphere, these new recruits are environment-friendly and save around one lakh litres of water per day.

In a first of its kind initiative for any airport in the country, all the cleaning jobs at T2 are now being carried out with “green chemicals.”

“We started working on the project last July. Our prime concern was whether the

green

chemicals would be effective given the scale of the job at hand and the large number of passengers that the airport handles,” said a Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson. Currently, green chemicals —the ones in use at the Mumbai airport are essentially a mixture of enzymes and bacteria—are used to clean 200 toilets and 4 lakh square metres of surface area in T2, he added.

While even those with sensitive olfactory nerves might not be able to figure out that the indoor air quality is better, that’s not the case with the toilets, especially the ones designated for men. Passengers who used the urinals in the past two months would have noticed that the auto-sensor flush “doesn’t work”. They no longer dispense water, they dispense the green chemical instead. Water is used only when the urinals are cleaned manually. “Cleaning compounds that contain ammonia-feeding bacillus spores are instead used in toilets. Lab tests have confirmed that the toilets are cleaner now,” the official said.

For, unlike conventional chemicals that clean only when used, green chemicals employ bacteria that are at work 24/7. The green solution is poured at regular intervals in the urinals, it’s spritzed in the air, which is why the toilets, used by both male and female passengers have no odour. “We don’t use lemongrass or lavender or other such essential oils to mask the smells. The bacteria convert the ammonia generated due to uric acid accumulation to nitrogen, as soon as the

toilet

is used,” he said.

The decision to switch to green chemicals was in fact taken because of the “sloppy way” some Indians used toilets. “We found that the urinals and commodes aren’t used the way they are supposed to be. It leaves them dirty and frequent cleaning wasn’t the solution,’’ the MIAL official added.

The biggest gain though is the water saved in the urinals in the loos. About 90,000 men, including passengers and airport staff included, arrive and depart at T2 daily. It’s not known how many of these use toilets, but with 1.2 litres of water dispensed per flush in the urinals, the savings are huge.