Recycling: A step toward awareness and care of water

When we think about recycling, we usually think of post-consumer packaging that can either end up in a landfill, or be recycled back into new consumer packaging. Our actions determine the outcome, and the availability of recycling bins and centers makes the process of doing the right thing much easier. But recycling is also being done with natural elements, such as metal and water.

Water recycling is more critical than we understand, because the water system on the planet is a closed system. What we have is what we’re going to have; the amount of it that is fresh, or drinkable, is only a small portion of the water on the planet. And with a fixed, limited supply of fresh water, how are we going to deal with the current human population that is blooming like summer flowers?

Most cities in the developed world have water treatment plants. All our fresh water circulates through these plants, where impurities are filtered out, and it is treated for waterborne germs. As water picks up greater amounts of contaminants from the environment, such as lead and mercury from soil, the ability of these water treatment plants to filter out the contamination is being strained. They are also using increasingly large amounts of energy to do the job. In the developing world, access to clean, fresh water and adequate sewage infrastructure for human health is not a given; much of the early death and disease in children in the developing world is related to lack of access to clean water.

Most of the commercial water use in the world is going to agriculture–but not to fields of green leafy vegetables. Currently, most water in agriculture is going toward raising cattle, and to growing cotton–both very heavy water users. The current system of consumption of these products is not sustainable in the long run for their water usage alone.

There are several models of water recycling that are gaining mainstream acceptance. With cities growing up, and the advent of urban agriculture and rooftop green spaces, water catchments systems that can supply these urban green areas are being built into new buildings and being added to refurbishments. Low use appliances in bathrooms are also being put in all new construction. For the homeowner, these systems look like old fashioned rain barrels, catching water from the roof to use to water the garden.

Greywater recycling is also being used in some applications, especially in the Southwest and in off-grid homes. Water can be used several times before being sent back into the earth, where it filters down through layers of gravel and cleans itself. Water from a washing machine, for instance, can water a garden or raised bed; in the Earthships outside of Taos, greywater is recycled through the kitchen to raised garden beds and then back through the toilets before it goes outside to septic systems. In urban areas, bioswales and rain gardens are cleaning urban rain before it enters the sewage system.

Patterns of fresh water use need to be modified for the future; recycling is a first step toward awareness and care of this natural resource.