Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Do we have correct information about our “polluting”?

While researching possible new models of composting/solar toilets I ended up on the www.greywater.com site which sheds light on what is and isn’t a pollution problem concerning soap.
Apparently, soap is not always a pollutant; it is a problem when it ends up in the drain and eventually, in our water sources, the rivers.
If we are “processing” our greywater there on the island before it reaches the sea, (if it reaches the sea at all) then we are not creating pollution; on the contrary, a lot of what is in common soaps can be considered nutrients. There are harmful ones, but most are not. Our grey water will actually make the plants grow. One of the ways of purifying water is to run it through the sand, which, I believe is what is done at the kitchen. I did not find that there was any “greywater smell” around the kitchen in February so it must have been improved on since the last time I was there.
There has been a lot of concern about bringing only biodegradable soap to the island; concern that we have no source for it in Fiji. Possibly this is not as important as we think.
This is not to say that we should not use biodegradable soap; if you are bathing in the sea, you should be using biodegradable soap, it is a good habit to carry back home at any rate. But, a good habit to get into is also to watch what we take for granted or assume is correct without doing any research; to question the information that you are given, and it’s sources. The internet is at our fingertips, we should be using it in order to educate ourselves on the things that concern us.
It is important that we really understand the information that we toss around concerning sustainability and in so doing concentrate on the most important aspects of our impact on Vorovoro, we need to be aware of what actually is and is not,pollution in this environment. . .even information pollution.

Please refer to the following site for further information on the soap issue. http://www.greywater.com/synopsis.htm

Taken directly from the above website: Conventional sanitary engineering has maintained that “sewage is sewage” whether it be greywater alone or total sewage (grey and blackwater mixed together. There is one reasonable argument for this position: namely, that greywater, if left untreated for a few days, will behave like total sewage. Both will become malodorous (become anaerobic), and both will contain a large number of bacteria. The observation of these common characteristics has given rise to regulations that do not distinguish between the various sources of pollution and which therefore mandate the same treatment for all wastewaters. But the differences between greywater and total sewage are far more important than their similarities, the following document will present an alternative strategy for treating/managing greywater and give the rationale for this approach.

COMBINED WASTEWATER Greywater is specifically washwater. That is, bath, dish, and laundry water excluding toilet wastes and free of garbage-grinder residues.When properly managed, greywater can be a valuable resource which horticultural and agricultural growers as well as home gardeners can benefit from. It can also be valuable to landscape planners, builders, developers and contractors because of the design and landscaping advantages of on-site greywater treatment/management. It is, after all, the same phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen making greywater a source of pollution for lakes, rivers and ground water which are EXCELLENT NUTRIENT SOURCES for vegetation when this particular form of wastewater is made available for irrigation.