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Editor’s note: OK, we’re usually not so potty-mouthed, but, as you’ll see, it’s perfectly (and literally) appropriate this time around. We’re pleased to have Simran Sethi and Sarah Smarsh join us as guest contributors, and share with you their series on the surprising journeys of everyday things. They will be posting previews on Green Options before launching the posts on Huffington Post. Here’s a sneak peek at bathroom fun.
What you may not realize, cherie, is that whatever you flush down comes back around. Our waste fertilizes our fields and is pumped back into the waterways that are our major sources of drinking water. Let’s take the journey from toilet to tap, shall we? Oui oui. (We’re affecting French here for a touch of sophistication in a post centering on fecal matter.)
Americans use about 70 gallons of water indoors, every day. About three-quarters of that is used in the toilette—shower, bath, sink, crapper—and over one-quarter is used whisking away our waste. You can cut this water usage by making sure your toilet isn’t leaking, using a composting or low-flow toilet or even displacing the water in the tank with a brick or container filled with sand . Your toilet is not a trashcan, so save cigarette butts, tissues and used condoms for the basket, not the bowl.
Picture this. It’s the first day of trying to live 100% environmentally sustainably. You are in a constant hyper-alert state about what you choose to do. You bike to work… doing good. You eat only from sustainable venues… doing great! And then… catastrophe.
The porcelain gods are angry with you.
This is the story of my hard lesson about living sustainably in America in 2008, which has since transformed my approach to the sustainable living project. It came in the form of a toilet.
The World Health Organization recommended in its 2000 report on global water that “at least 20 liters per person per day from a source within one kilometer of the user’s home” be considered the basic measure of rightful access to fresh water[1]. Of course, fresh water natural resources vary from region to region.
By serenity_ii •
September 4, 2007
Whoo-hoo! Seventh Generation now sells chlorine-free training pants! We hope they work as well as the diapers.
Talk about flushing money and scarce resources down the drain. Toilets are big users of water in the home, but there are ways that we can minimize the waste and improve water conservation.
The first thing you'll want to do is check for leaks. Add a few drops of food coloring into the tank and check the bowl for color over the following 30 minutes. If you do find that water is leaking from the tank
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