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Grey water recycling system
The Background
Michael Azouri lives on a two-and-a-half acre block of land, very close to Canberra, approximately half of which is made up of garden. With the onset of the drought this once lush and beautiful garden turned into a brown and dying mass. As a means of prolonging the life of a select few plants, Michael’s family would bucket out their shower, bath, and laundry waste water. In Australia, this waste water (known as grey water) is normally flushed down the drain and treated at a sewage works before being dumped into the ocean. Michael's grey water treatment system endeavoured to water gardens efficiently through reducing water consumption and reusing grey water.
The Project
Before grey water can be used in the garden, the water needs to be filtered to remove any unwelcome particles (like food from your kitchen) and then treated by ultraviolet to kill any unwanted germs. Michael modified a 44 gallon drum to process the grey water into usable garden water and designed it for easy connection to the house’s existing plumbing. Waste water from the house (from the shower, bath and laundry) is directed into a single grey water inlet in the drum and comes out the other side cleaned and ready to water the plants. The entire unit is built of easily accessible and affordable materials.
The Journey
The project illustrates linkages between technology and its impact on society and the environment and demonstrates that individual habits affect society collectively;
Waste is a valuable resource, for which each household must take responsibility;
To create a realistic change, solutions must not only work but be affordable as well.
Michael’s project brings us to the realisation that sustainable living requires viewing ‘waste’ as a valuable resource and shows how each household can take responsibility for managing their resources.
