Living green means following the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle. Adopting a greener lifestyle is important to improving the environment and conserving scarce resources. One of those key resources is fresh water. Water is fast becoming a scarce natural resource, particularly in major metropolitan areas. The changing dynamics of supply and demand are also raising the cost of water. Therefore, establishing a greener lifestyle by saving water will also result in saving money.
A number of changes to green living habits focus on using less water by taking shorter showers, using low-flush toilets, and installing low-flow fixtures in faucets and showers. Although it is not talked about as much, adapting greywater recycling has the potential to have an even bigger impact on water use.
Greywater recycling is the use of water that would normally be considered wastewater for additional uses without sending it to the trash. Examples of greywater include water generated from activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing. This water can be recycled immediately after use with the installation of appropriate equipment. Greywater does not include water from toilets that contain human waste. The term for this type of water is blackwater.
Gray water can comprise up to 50-80% of the water used in a typical home. With a simple plumbing design, homes can be configured to capture this gray water and reuse it for a number of uses that previously consumed fresh water. For example, once you’ve washed your hands, there’s no reason the water, which may contain some soap, couldn’t be used to flush the toilet. The same goes for the water in the dishwasher or washing machine.
It is estimated that a typical home could save between 3,500 and 7,000 gallons of fresh water each year by recycling greywater. That amount is roughly equal to the amount of water that goes down the drains from the bathroom sink, kitchen sink, and laundry room. An ideal greywater capture and recycling system will filter the greywater and then redirect it for use in other areas of the home, such as flushing toilets. There are simple adapter kits you can buy at a hardware or plumbing supply store that can connect your sink drain to your toilet. There is even a special bathroom with a built-in sink. Handwashing water flows into the toilet tank to be reused for flushing. This toilet design is already popular in Japan, where the fresh water supply is less than in Western countries, and you can expect it to be offered more frequently in Europe and the US in the very near future.
In this way, fresh water is conserved.
Consider gray water recycling as a way to conserve thousands of gallons of fresh water each year.
