With many of us actively trying to take meaningful steps towards a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, one recycling method is becoming increasingly popular. Grey water recycling is an easy way to help you conserve water, reduce your environmental footprint, and save money. If this is a new idea to you, we'll share five practical and actionable tips on using the potential of grey water at home, positively impacting your household and the planet.

What is grey water?

All mains water coming into our homes is clean drinking water (known as ‘potable water’) that’s been treated and tested and is safe for all our everyday needs. But the wastewater from baths, showers, washing machines, and sinks is called ‘greywater’, which can make up much of most homes' wastewater. Greywater typically contains fewer contaminants and bacteria than ‘blackwater’ (wastewater from toilets), making it easier to treat and reuse for certain household purposes. 

What is grey water recycling?

Greywater recycling is an environmentally friendly practice that helps conserve freshwater resources and reduce the strain on wastewater treatment facilities. The level of relative cleanliness from greywater means it can be reused for activities like flushing toilets, garden watering, and even washing clothes. However, it's essential to use greywater safely and appropriately, following local regulations and guidelines, to avoid potential health and environmental risks.

Grey water recycling tips

The idea behind greywater recycling is to repurpose this relatively clean wastewater for various household purposes rather than allowing it to flow back into the sewage system. Here are our top 3 tips on recycling your greywater to conserve water and save money:

Watering the garden

Many people will have a water butt in their garden that harvests rainwater, but during summer months, this can run low. But you can use greywater to keep plants healthy and watered. This method is perfectly acceptable for most plants as long as you can alternately water them with ‘clean’ water too.

Flushing the loo

Every toilet flush can use up to 6 litres of treated drinking water, more if you don’t have a low or dual flush model. Using greywater to flush waste away is just as effective and is highly effective in saving money and conserving treated water.

Install a greywater system

The above two tips are handy for tackling smaller household tasks once or twice, but installing a greywater system could be the next step if you're serious about greywater recycling. A system like this can cost around £3,000 plus installation and regular maintenance, but it can capture, treat, and store household greywater. The treated water can then be used again for household tasks like garden irrigation, toilet flushing, or clothes washing.

Sustainable water from Thirsty Work

These grey water recycling tips are an excellent way to conserve our precious water, and you’ll be taking a small step towards water sustainability.

To help you get there with a sustainable drinking water supply, our range of bottled water coolers use water that’s been naturally filtered water through limestone 60m underground from our spring inside a site of specific scientific interest. And our mains-fed water coolers use advanced filtration for water with a fully filtered taste direct from your mains supply.

To find out more about where our water comes from and any of our environmental policies, contact our team today. Call 01392 877 172 or email hello@thirstywork.com – we can give you the answers you need, give you a free quote and get you started on your free 10-day water cooler trial.