Clean water is becoming increasingly valuable, wherever you live in the world. Growing populations need more, but climate change means there is less. Talking about this means talking about sewage, which is not a popular topic, but hey, buckle up. Up to 75% of household wastewater is ‘grey water’, the mildly contaminated type that comes from showers, bathtubs and washing machines. Hydraloop is a device that collects and cleans these substances to make what they call “home water,” suitable for toilet flushing, irrigation, and re-injection into washing.
The inventor, the Dutchman Arthur Valkieser, felt the urge to act when he realized how much drinking water was pumped into the cisterns to flush the toilets – about 35 liters per person per day. Hydraloop flushes with cleaned gray water instead, an idea so brilliant that the World Intellectual Property Organization, an agency of the United Nations, has recognized it as a tool to help reduce water consumption.
Preparing the plumbing is, according to Hydraloop, “not difficult,” and they provide clear instructions. The unit takes up about 4.5 square feet, which is no different from having another large refrigerator. (Smaller versions of Hydraloop are due to launch next year.) It cleans gray water in six processes, starting with sedimentation and ending with UV disinfection – but no filters are used, so the maintenance is light. An accompanying app lets you pay as much attention to your water savings as you want, but otherwise it’ll just do its job, cleaning and storing the water (300 liters in the Hydraloop H300). The result: you save up to 45% of tap water consumption, reduce waste water emissions by up to 45% and reduce your overall energy consumption (about 400 kWh per year on average).
Some people may frown and narrow their eyes at the thought of washing clothes in previously used water, but that’s the kind of mental hurdle we’re going to have to jump through to live. sustainably. Hydraloop’s slogan is “use the water twice”, and it makes perfect sense. Hydraloop H300, £3,195, hydraloop.com
good call
Nothing Phone (1), £399, nothing.tech
Nothing, based in London, caused a kerfuffle last year with its Ear headphones (1), a brave attempt by a small company to enter a Apple– dominated space. Now we have the Phone (1), an equally bold move in a crowded market, but with a number of green credentials that have seen pre-orders reach around 200,000 units. It has a recycled aluminum frame, half of its Plastic the components are made with biobased or recycled materials and it is packaged in recycled fibers. The battery is replaceable and there is a UK-based repair center to discourage the practice of throwing broken phones into a dumpster. The camera is exceptional, the housing semi-transparent and distinctive. A smartphone that emphasizes intelligence. Nothing Phone (1), £399, nothing.tech
A brush with durability
Considered the world’s most sustainable electric toothbrush, Suri recognizes the environmental impact of brushing our teeth: four billion toothbrushes that end up in landfill or the ocean every year, plastic parts not recyclables, excessively unnecessary packaging, etc. These brush heads are made from cornstarch, castor oil bristles and Suri recycles them free for UK and US customers. It has an attractive slim profile that makes most other electric toothbrushes feel rather chunky, two modes (“daily clean” or “polish”, depending on your mood) and that’s about it, but who needs bells and whistles? You’re just brushing your teeth, after all. (And with a relatively clear conscience.) Suri toothbrush, £85, www.trysuri.com
only compost
Lomi Kitchen Composter, £499, uk.pela.earth
There are strange things going on inside this unit that are akin to witchcraft. Put your everyday food scraps in its bucket, turn it on and come back a few hours later with the promise of a container full of soil ready to feed your plants. It does just that, using a combination of heat, abrasion, oxygen and “helpful bacteria”, and the results are quite impressive. There’s only one concern – that you leave a device running overnight – but the company puts a lot of effort into detailing its carbon footprint and assures us that it is lower than that of the same waste sent to landfill. Plus, he handles a particularly nasty part of the kitchen administration in a very satisfying way. Lomi Kitchen Composter, £499, uk.pela.earth
gutter dreams
Rainwater is another important and overlooked source of water, so easily collected but usually left to disappear into sewers. The majority of water catchers are pretty unsightly, but this one is the result of a graduate design project that gained considerable momentum and has since won numerous awards. A built-in five-litre jug automatically fills whenever it rains for easy deployment in and around the garden, while excess drains into the 70-litre raindrop-shaped container below. In addition to reducing city water consumption, rainwater is better for plants than tap water: less salts and chemicals, more nitrates. The product is made from wind power and, as you’d expect, is 100% recyclable. Elho Pure Raindrop, £269, elho.com