LIXIL, a Japanese-based manufacturer of building materials and housing equipment, has entered into an initiative with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and local partners to launch a pilot project in the Middle Peninsula to explore wastewater treatment solutions aimed at reducing nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding waterways. The pilot will involve approximately 10 residential and commercial locations across the Middle Peninsula, with installations planned through 2029, according to a release from LIXIL. It will use a system that combines LIXIL’s urine diversion flush toilet technology with a compact onsite nitrogen treatment unit. Designed to maintain the familiar experience of a conventional toilet, the technology separates urine at the source and directs it to a treatment unit that removes nitrogen before the treated liquid is returned to the property’s existing septic system. The modular system is designed for retrofitting existing properties...