In looking into ways I can green my home I’m exploring the possibilities of using Greywater.

Greywater? I know it doesn’t sound all that appealing does it? Not like something you want to bathe and splash about in! But in light of the precious need to conserve water, the use of greywater can be an absolute essential for eco-living.

Greywater is the water that’s been used in a household for bathing, washing dishes and clothes, and for practical purposes also includes water collected from balconies and paved areas around a home, which can be contaminated with household cleaning products or other contaminants . It is generally not that dirty and much different from blackwater which is from the toilet and needs to be treated completely separately.

In my last blog I spoke about the benefits of using compost toilets which provides a solution to both the creation of blackwater and wastage of water caused by flushing. If however you were not convinced that a compost toilet is your best option you could instead flush with greywater rather than clean potable water and benefit doubly by saving resources and reusing a resource that would otherwise have gone to waste. Continue reading "Once Is Not Enough – Making Use of Greywater"

With water shortages and pollution becoming major issues around the world there are many things we need to transform in order to create more harmonious ways of living on the planet. One of the ways we can start is with a compost toilet!

Unfortunately the name and stigma attached makes people think of smelly pit latrines that were a feature of a past they would like to leave behind. But modern composting toilets are clean, efficient and as pleasant smelling as any regular WC.

Composting toilets effectively recycle human fecal waste into usable material that can eventually be used to enhance the soil. There are many options for composting toilets from simple DIY models to sophisticated commercial products. Some use electricity or solar power to ventilate the air and increase microbial activity, thus hastening the breakdown of waste. Waterless composting toilets ensure that houses can remain occupied even when water is shut off for periods of time – especially useful during dry and hurricane seasons. Continue reading "To Flush or Not to Flush! – The Benefits of a Compost Toilet"