Benefits > Environmental > Greywater Treatment

The Problem:

Greywater is the waste water produced after daily household activities are conducted.  This commonly includes dish washing, bathing, hand washing, and laundry.  This is not to be confused with black water which is the waste produced by toilets.  Greywater comprises a large portion of residential waste water: ranging from 50-80%.  Currently, most greywater enters septic systems and sewers, where it mixes with blackwater and is treated through the use of chemicals, etc.  In terms of national water usage, The U.S. Geological Survey reports that 26 billion gallons of water is consumed daily in the US., with approximately 30% of that water being used for outdoor purposes.  When viewed on a large scale, enacting ways to recycle greywater could save billions of gallons of water a day.   
 
The EcoWall™ Solution:

Vertical gardens can provide a great tool to recycle and purify greywater.  The greywater effluent contains many nutrients that can be processed by the plants through phytoremediation and used for growth. Primarily, the greywater collected from bathing, hand washing, and laundry provide the best option for recycling.  Greywater produced from washing dishes may also be used but should be treated beforehand due to the presence of grease and other food particles.  The re-use of greywater on the EcoWall™ can filter through the system and then reclaimed back into the building for the reflushing of toilets or used to irrigate outdoor gardens and lawns. 

Greywater technologies provide benefits such as:

• water efficiency by recycling non-potable water
• minimizing fresh water usage
• decreasing the chemical used for treatment
• recharging groundwater
• utilizing otherwise wasted nutrient for plant growth
• minimizing the load passed through septic systems

Social Responsibility

The system is only as good as its tenants.  In order for the greywater treatment to be effective, product purchasing mentalities must change.  This means that tenants should be cognizant of what they are putting into the system.  By purchasing greener cleaning agents, such as detergents and shampoos, the EcoWall™ system will be rendered more successful by maintaining proper medium pH and allowing for sufficient plant growth.

Plant-based systems provide incredible promise for greywater treatment.   Greywater has far less nitrogen, pathogens, and decomposes faster than blackwater.  When combined with the correct greywater processing system, the EcoWall™ can be a great water conservation tool.