Reusing and recycling water in your home for other functions is one thing but recycling it for drinking is something completely different. Of course, drinking your wastewater is not safe, it must be cleaned and filtered but did you know that some nations have been recycling water for consumption for decades. The science isn’t new, the practice is completely safe, and countries like Namibia are drastically reducing their water consumption by doing so. Do you think we should recycle water too?
Why are people recycling their water for consumption?
It all comes down to water scarcity. We’ve touched on it in this blog before, about how important it is to reduce consumption so that water doesn’t become scarce. Well, recycling is the perfect way to do so. In some nations, like Namibia, water has been scarce for decades, it’s at a point where asking people to use less is no longer a solution. Therefore, recycling water is essential to ensuring as many people as possible have access to clean water.
But what about in nations like ours, where water appears to flow so easily? In the UK it rains on average 133 days out of the year – no need to recycle, right? Wrong. Rainfall doesn’t dictate how much is captured for consumption. In fact, when too much rain falls in a short amount of time, it becomes difficult to store it and some may go to waste. A light shower on a regular basis is preferred. Which is why we recycle water here in the UK too.
How does the UK recycle its water?
The UK has been recycling water for a long time. Mainly, so that we can send it safely back into the environment. The nation doesn’t struggle to a point where we need to recycle water for consumption. That being said, with warmer weather and more extreme showers, there’s no telling what could happen. It has been predicted that in the next 25 years the UK could run short of water. Could we see the UK develop its water recycling methods from environmental protection into consumption in our homes? Would you feel comfortable drinking recycled wastewater?
What’s the process of recycling water?
Recycling water simplifies an incredibly complicated process. It’s not as simple as just ‘recycling’ and putting it back into our waterways. Wastewater goes through a tremendous filtering process which can be very intensive on supplies. It’s screened to remove all the nasties that shouldn’t be in there in the first place such as wet wipes. Then it’s taken through three treatments, separating waste from water and cleaning the water. It’s an intensive but essential process so that the end result is clean water going back into the environment and solids (sludge) being used to generate electricity.
When you look at wastewater and how it can be treated, either to be returned safely into the environment or to be consumed, it’s clear that it’s incredibly useful for fighting water scarcity. In 25 years’ time, when the UK is predicted to run short of water, what will you choose to do? Will you have reduced your consumption to the utter minimum or are you ready to drink recycled water?
