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Jin Jiugao: male, 73, saving water with toilet renovations. This Beijing senior has devoted a large part of his life to preserving the environment, and is most well known for his creative tactics to save water.
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| Jin Jiugao |
Back in the 1980s, Jin worked as an engineer for Jinglun Hotel. The toilets at the time were imported from the United States, big and clunky, with tanks that filled up to 25 liters, compared to today’s standard of just six. Alarmed, Jin began his investigations into toilet design here, determined to restructure the system and reach optimum water productivity.
Jin's environmentalist nature continued as he worked at the hotel, always keeping an eye out for new ways to preserve water.
He moved to a new neighborhood in 2001, and was frustrated to find himself face-to-face with more inefficient toilets. The amount of water used was far more than was actually needed, and the way the toilets were cleaned was not up to scratch. Jin was considering retirement, but with toilet water making up about half of his water bills, he decided to take action and wrest control over the old system.
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Visitors from all over the globe come to see Jin's invention in person. [Photo/bjby.bjwmb.gov.cn] |
Using his engineering expertise, he invested 4,000 yuan into a project that began with an array of toilets, books, and building materials. After conducting tests and working his invention to perfection, Jin's labor finally yielded a small device that would improve toilet efficiency and, ultimately, save water.
Eager to spread his findings to the rest of the world, Jin opened an office and, with a team of volunteers, leaped for a major milestone as his device was added to over 600 homes. Since then, the average household saved around 400 tons of water, which is equivalent to over 66,000 modern toilet flushes. His neighborhood has saved nearly 300,000 tons, close to 50 million flushes. As a healthy side benefit of saving water, carbon emissions have been reduced by over 20,000 tons.
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Jin explaining his invention to grade school students. [Photo/bjby.bjwmb.gov.cn] |
Jin believes his invention has impacted tens of thousands of people in over 20 neighborhoods.
He is now something of a small star, especially in the preservation of nature, and has won numerous awards to celebrate his work. Just last June, Jin was crowned "Water-Preservation Star".
Jin Jiugao has been invited to 11 conferences, 400 environmentalist events, and trained thousands of volunteers devoted to his cause.
Edited by Wang Zili
