UDD toilet for ecosan awareness at UNESCO-IHE in Delft  (ecosan = Ecosanitation)

The cartoons can be downloaded in all 17 language versions (also without any text) in the original FLASH format and in Animated GIF format, or in  MP4 format for iPod or in 3GP for mobile phones on the download page.

In 2005, the total value of the U.S. water recycling and reuse industry was over $2.1 billion. BCC predicts that total market revenue will grow at an average annual rate of just over 8.8% through 2010, yielding total revenue in 2010 of just under $3.3 billion.

The overall market revenue growth rate of 8.8% reflects the fact that significant innovation is still occurring, making technologies more accessible to a greater number of potential buyers, as well as the fact that the underlying market - the wastewater recycling and reuse market - is heading into a replacement phase. 

Grey-Water Recycling History and Development:

The "Water Closet" or WC, the latrine using water to flush the toilet was invented about 150 years ago. Since then solutions have always been sought for not to waste clean water by flushing the toilet, or at least to limit the water quantity used for this purpose.

The grey-water systems used in the past were using grey-water tanks in the basement or in the garden. One of the recent systems built within an EU project is the Aquasave Project documented on CD which was carried out in Italy, in the city of Bologna. The CD and website is excellent educational material, and an interesting technical trial and development. The EU financed 50% of the costs incurred which shows well how very important water management is for the European Union. It can be seen that this is a "large system".

Another example which is already more compact, is the "AquaCycle" the details of which can be seen on the page: www.swamp-eu.org/pub/sample.pdf

PONTOS and AquaCycle are trade-marks of the HANSGROHE group, who developed a household grey-water system, recycling the used water from the bathroom to feed the flushing toilet, to use the recycled water in the washing machine and to use it for cleaning and to water the garden. Every important system element is built into one and the same unit, which is very practical and enables easy instalment.

Another system is the GEP IGM system, conceived for houses.

GEP Umwelttechnik GmbH :IGM Graywater-Recycling-Equipment

Another similar but even smaller system is the: Twin-Flow, a trade mark of the German www.soltech.de company. This system uses already a smaller tank of about 500 litres. Until today, this is the simplest and smallest household grey-water system in production. Here also, every important system element is built into one and the same unit making the system easier to install in the house. Compared to the complicated and very costly system of the AquaSave Project this is much simpler which makes it more available to a larger public. In the USA hundreds of thousands of houses have grey-water system, the building of which costs between USD.10 thousand (if built in at the time of constructions planned beforehand) and as much as 50 thousand (if the system has to be installed by converting the whole building). Building in a compact system like Hansgrohe or Twin-Flow, the costs can be considerable reduced. Here are two pictures presenting Twin-Flow:

The compact systems are, however still too large and costly, when we need a grey-water system in a simple, smaller flat. The majority of people live in flats, and not in detached, or semi-detached houses. The systems presented above are excellent solutions, but they are not readily available for the population living in flats. We must find a solution to offer the opportunity to use grey-water systems to everybody, also to those people, including myself, who live in relatively smaller flats, where there is no room to accommodate 500 litres tanks. We must also consider the cost element. A smaller and simpler and cheaper solutions must be developed, making it available for the public.

The problem to be solved:

- Where to store a larger quantity of water, which is about 30 times more than the minimum quantity needed for one toilet flushing? The biggest problem is storage, then treating. Some thrifty people put aside the washing water in buckets, so that they could use it to flush the toilet. I adore those people, because they save not only for themselves, at the cost of a lot of extra work invested in "bucketing", but they also save water to the other people, to all of us. Bucketing raises also the question: is it hygienic? Definitely not. And even if the buckets are covered the bacteria is multiplying so quickly, that after two days the water goes stale, and smells – if not treated with disinfectant. The majority of us is not willing to do this extra household chore. So where to store grey-water?

- We have the toilet flushing tank.

- Ok, but it can store only a limited quantity of water which is enough only for one flushing. Or if it has a double-actuator button, like the one Geberit [Switzerland] produces, it can store water for maximum two small urine flushing.

- But how can we store in a toilet flushing tank much more water, say 30 times more water than the water quantity necessary for one flushing?

- The answer to this solution is a larger tank.  We pour much more water into the tank, while, at the same time, we fix the floating buoy at a height where it  normally stands, so the extra water covers the floating buoy, thus the floating buoy becomes an under-water plunger buoy.

- Ok, but how will it work?

- The answer to the problem is a "stick" which connects the underwater plunger buoy with the tap-water opening valve. This stick is going through the greywater column, all the way long to reach the tap water opening valve.

In the fully electronic version, this becomes a "virtual stick" as it is replaced by water sensors and electromagnetic water valves connected to the electronic control unit.

The most interesting thing is that this stick which offered us the solution is hardly used, since due to teh fact that much more grey-water is produced daily within a household than is needed to cover the water quantity needed for flushing the toilet.

So we borrowed something to resolve the problem, and the borrowed thing in not really needed in the end.

Here your are, the simplest, smallest, cheapest grey-water system, which is capable to accommodate, store, treat (filtering, disinfecting) and to distribute, feed and measure grey-water in much larger quantities than necessary for one single flushing, using only one single tank automatically :

This is the "smallest grey-water system" ever having the following characteristics and advantages in comparison to the larger systems presented at the beginning: .

1. Simplicity : this can be produced by using a simple barrel of about 200 litres, the filters are two mechanic filters, and between the two filters a solid disinfectant cake is placed, similar to the WC blocks put into urinaries, or hung on the sides of toilet bowls in little plastic holders.

2. Easy to install: the tubing is from rubber hose or plastic hose.

3. Not only inexpensive, but definitely CHEAP: any-one can make one at home, "Do it yourself".

4. Easy maintenance: all you need to do is to check regularly the filters and to clean them if necessary, and to replace the disinfectant if it is used up (about once in a fortnight). 

5. Flushing water reserve for water shortage: in case of temporary water shortage, you still have water in the giant grey-water tank.

6. Fire extinguishing water reserve: in case of fire, you will have some fire extinguishing water, about 100 to 200 litres.

7. Multiple supply: One grey-water tank or washing machine can supply the flushing water to 1, 2, 3 or 4  toilets. More is not advisable. The tank should not be more than 150 liters, otherwise one will run into problems. The system must be small and the greywater must be stirred regularly. This ensures that no sedimentation is forming inside the tank. A larger tank must tackle more contaminants. The mechanical filters of this small system is not enough for handling larger volumes of greywater.   

 

However the simplest single tank version can be used only if you live in a duplex, i.e. a two-storied flat, and you have the bathroom and the washing machine upstairs, and the single-tank grey-water system downstairs. 

If this is not the case, you need a pump to forward the grey-water to the tank. For this, there is another version, when the tank is using the washing machine, as in the cartoon you can see above. You can also opt for the version when the single-tank system is equipped with its own pump unit and Central Processing Unit to coordinate the grey-water recycling activities. This is illustrated by the picture below: 

Another very important characteristic is : this is an instant system, which does not store longer grey-water than a few hours. (the previously presented systems store too much grey-water for too long, which raises many problems)

— because of its mechanism, and given its little size and capacity, this tank uses up almost immediately the grey-water produced in the household. This is a striking difference in comparison to the larger systems. The grey-water surplus is flowing through the overflow orifice and overflow tube directly into the sewage canal.

 

Product diversification: The larger systems and the small ones have their different application fields. They are all needed likewise. Larger systems have the advantage of using up all the grey-water produced in the household. The smallest system does not keep the grey-water surplus and sends it to the sewage canal. This can be considered as wasting some of the grey-water. However, its other advantages, like cost efficiency and simplicity makes up for this little disadvantage. While the larger systems are better for individual houses, the smallest system has its market in the smaller flats. Both types are needed. The different systems are complementary, and there is a market for both larger and smaller types, the latter being with or without washing machine, each type satisfies a different need in the market.

 

The smallest system is patented (pending) only in the USA and Europe, so the remaining area of the World is free to manufacture and sell it. It is not patented in Asia, Russia and all the former Soviet republics, Africa, Canada and Latin-America, Australia and New-Zealand.

Manufacturers are wanted !

For all other additional info, consult the text clicking the USA or English flag, or you can send your questions to me.

I wish I had a grey-water recycling washing machine!

If you know where to buy one, please let me know! I need one and I want to buy one! Thank you.

Grey-water recycling opens optimistic prospects

While the Kyoto-agreement on the environmental protection front means a serious challenge to most economies because of the restrictions that it can impose on the industries one single positive development in innovation might bring about noticeable improvements in sustainable development and environmental protection at the same time helping to achieve the goals of the agreement. A good  example  for such improvement  in the past was the introduction of the injection type engine which reduced considerably the fuel consumption of the cars.

The technical solution which is presented here is an example to show again that sustainable development is not a contradictory expression and industrial growth does not necessarily imply increased pollution.

Today when we enjoy the most incredible high-tech modern conveniences of the space research era like the mobile phone containing dozens of millions of transistors enabling us even to watch TV on our cell-phone and surf the internet, some primitive problems remain stubbornly still with us endangering our future. Such an unresolved case is the example of the flushing toilet for which we waist potable fresh water and this makes up about one third in household water consumption.

To resolve this one and a half century-old problem a trivial and obvious solution has been found. Some thrifty and ingenious people mainly house wives collect the washing water with buckets and flush the toilet with that used washing water which is called grey-water. Bucket flushing is an arduous and inconvenient chore and only few people care to toil with it. In addition it is not very hygienic since bacteria multiply so quickly in grey-water that if not treated it will turn stale and will become black-water in just three days. Therefore in those countries where grey-water reuse is general everyday practice there are grey-water laws which stipulate under what conditions grey-water can be reused. The basic requirements are disinfection and filtration.

The strictest grey-water law is that of California. In semi-arid places where precipitation is scarce, various grey-water systems are installed to ease the water shortage to some extent. However these systems are complicated and rather expensive. Besides, each individual system must be approved by the local authorities. The solution to this 150 years old problem is the automation of bucket flushing that is to collect house-hold grey-water and following filtering and disinfecting it is stored in the grey-water tank on top of the washing machine from where the central electronic control unit feeds the grey-water in pre-selected quantities for flushing the toilet.

The introduction of this eco-civilized modern-convenience the Greywater Recycling Washing Machine will surely give a lasting impetus to economy and society alike. This will be an important step in the conservation of nature by introducing this new still infinitely simple solution which also means a new generation of washing machines. The technical novelty is so simple you could have invented it yourself.

Putting this new generation of washing machine into production then to commercial circulation will mean to make the grey-water system available also for those individuals who are living in relatively smaller flat or even in a bed-sitter with fairly limited spaces. Up till know the grey-water systems were available only to relatively few people living in individual or semi-detatched houses and who could afford such an
investment.

The greywater recycling washer practically does not consume or use up water it just borrows it before forwarding it to other uses and it is sure to give a long-lasting impetus to the economy to industry and commerce alike. Thus we can expect a boost in industrial output and commercial turnover and consequent improvement in the employment rate contributing to a general growth of the economy which is nothing less than making the "sustainable development" become realty. Do you remember the advanteges of full swing economy? If you have seen the cartoon about the greywater recycling washer then you surely understood its simplicity in all probability. Still let me underline the multiple gains that it assures forcasting a constructive and cooperative way forward for the whole society.

First of all its advantages to the individual by saving one third on water and sewage bills. This in itself is the overwhelming decisive marketing factor. No more reasoning is necessary to justify the need for such a product. Still there are quite a few other justifying factors.

Secondly the advantages to nature to water conservation to our environment which is a double advantage in itself by rationalizing on water consumption and by cutting on sewage output - which is another of those burning issues of environmental protection and this is nothing else than real sustainable development.

All these benign developments and effects are based on a natural and common need of both the individual and the society unanimously and in perfect harmony without any side effect or any disadvantage with no harm to anyone not hurting anybody's interests in the name of rationalizing in the positive sense enhancing efficiency and effectiveness while at the same time economizing on our natural resources without
imposing any restriction on anyone or on consumption. All that means to give free way to development by boosting the economy and improving our societies by contributing to environmental protection awareness.

This is not just the ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Now we can really take our destiny in our hands by seizing the opportunity to create a better world for ourselves for our children for our families for our community to everybody's advantage where everybody is a winner. All these facts provide sufficient ground for embarking on this project.

As one of my good teachers taught us "Culture begins with the toilet". Bearing this motto in mind we should also care about the water we waste on flushing our dirt down the drain. Even dogs when nature calls after finishing they make some instinctive movements trying to hide their excrement as it is programmed in their genes.

Beyond all instincts and programmed genes humanity has more than 5 thousand years old civilizations and unprecedently developped knowledge based societies, it must be imperative for us not to neglect the cumulative negative effects caused by the distructive human behaviours.

We must not ignore such a thought-after solution which is in high demand for this more than 150 year-old unresolved issue on how not to waste fresh water on flushing the toilet. This is a historical opportunity  to seize in order to reverse the environmental deterioration. This is our responsibility. Our future is at stake. Everything is at hand to make the best of this opportunity.

If you hold that these lines are  forecasting naïvely an exaggeratingly idealistic scenario seen through  pink sunglasses please do not forget the present harsh reality of five million jobless in Germany or the grim situation in France filled with extreme social tensions where 40,000 cars were set on fire in one single year in 2005. Even the United States of America is full with social tensions of all kinds especially after the
turmoil following September the 11th  also considering the fact that the war in Iraq starts to divide the nation.

Only after re-thinking today's socio-economic situations will you understand that I really mean genuine positive effects triggered by the introduction of such a simple technical novelty.

Wherever you live think of the economical situation of your country. Does your economy performe so well that no improvements are needed? Or are the sought-after easy improvements  really welcome? I can not imagine anything simpler than the grey-water reusing washing machine.

The European Union is trying very hard to improve the present stagnating economic situation. Still the Lisbon initiative has not produced any spectacular break-through yet. We are far from it. Also it is to be seen what the "Plan D" meaning Democracy Dialogue and Debate will bring about. Each and every opportunity should be grasped to improve the present grim economic situation.

There is an old saying "not to throw away the child with the bathing water" - nowdays even bathing water has become so precious that we must not throw away the bathing water itself because we can use it to replace precious drinking water. And also it is in the interest of the child because we should think about the future as well, about the future that we bequeath to the generations coming after us. The media is echoing with the threat of climate changes and global warming and reports about catastrophic tsunamies cyclons and forest fires in a lot of countries. The media is buzzing with reports about the burning issue of water shortage.

Now here is a solution which can ease water shortage and boost the economy at the same time. I do believe that in spite of the staggering problems surrounding us, we do have the necessary insight and wisdom to choose "the road ahead". All the more so, since there is not a single negative counter-argument our any counter-interest to bump against.

The road is safe and free, you can engage high gear. See beyond the horizon.