Should it be compulsory to collect all rain water from guttering, and reuse it for flushing our toilets?

Question

Also we could use a sand filter, and then we can wash with it and do the laundry.
would'nt that contribute a huge amount towards global warming?

Answer 1

yes it's about time that and many other planet saving methods are made mandatory, there has been too much carrot and not enough stick for years. People clearly are not going to change of their own free will.

Answer 2

We do use our rainwater for the toilets because that is what comes out the taps although it might be a year later. I like the idea of the sand filter. We used to use one in Africa. We haven't enough information on what contributes to global warming to know where to start. There will need be a whole report written on it. I think now is the time to get it going

Answer 3

Nice idea but needs a fair amount of low-tech stuff like filtration, storage, release valves, by-pass valves to switch back to mains when it hasn't rained etc. However, what everyone can do easily and quite inexpensively - we have - is to put a big rainwater butt under every down-pipe around the house, with an overflow trap that diverts the water when the butt is full. They are all fitted with hose connection points, so the result is we water all the flower beds, vegetables and lawn with rainwater. Usually there's enough. Even the pitched roof on the potting shed, only about 12 x 8 feet keeps two barrels topped up in all but the driest weather.

This all reduces our requirements for piped water to the house, which may make a small reduction in energy requirements at the water processing plant?

Answer 4

I don't think it would have much of an effect on Global Warming per se, but I do agree with collecting rainwater, where possible, to use for toilet flushing, garden watering and car washing. It does cost a lot of money and resources to purify the water which comes out of our taps, so to use that water for flushing/garden/car washing does seem an awful waste of resources...rain water is free, the stuff that comes out of our taps isn't!

I can't say that I would like to do the laundry with "grey" water though...need to think about that one!

The same goes for dishwashers...to me they are an inordinate waste of this planet's resources. I accept that a lot of people use them for the convenience, especially where both partners are working, though I also know that my grandmother, who had three cleaning jobs, and brought up seven children, managed to do her washing up without the use of a machine...(guess they hadn't been invented then either!)

I also think that every household should have a metered water supply, just as we are metered for our electricity and gas supply. It would certainly make people more aware of how much water they actually use, and how much could be saved if they fixed those leaking pipes and dripping taps!

Answer 5

Great idea! Very low tech and cheap. I think anything which reduces our burden on the planet without changing people's standard of living is a must.
I don't know how much energy a water treatment works uses, but it all helps. Also, it's a bit over the top to be wasting clean drinking water on taking a dump when so many people in the world haven't access to it.

Answer 6

This would be difficult and very expensive in the current housing stock, and the pipework and tanks would probably be made of plastic which would be made of oil or gas which would increase the rate at which we utilise scarce natural resources. Much better that there were legislation that any new build (housing or otherwise) be as low impact as possible and ideally zero or negative (putting energy back into the grid).

Answer 7

There is a special project in London already doing that. It's easily done and yes we should do it. The actual situation regarding water usable for humans is dire. Governments are panicking!

Answer 8

I don't think we do enough in this country to promote the green issue.... so although a bit extreme you could do I guess - there's a great book available on Amazon about self sufficiency with loads of tips on recycling and reuseable resources and what to do with the them. Just search on self sufficiency...

Answer 9

Nice idea but if you can get the country's top business men (and political financial backers) to spend their saturdays emptying out gutter tanks you'd make prime minister/president.

Answer 10

If nothing else i would help in ares that are short of water.