Badeværelseskultur - en barriere for bæredygtig udvikling?

son 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 resourcedemanding
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 breakthrough
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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