by Bernadell Larson,
HCMG |
With Conflicting
Priorities
. . . which resources do
you choose to manage?
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I received an email on a
statement in my last
column on LEED-H water
management and greywater
systems, which I would
like to share with you.
First I would like to
say that I am thankful
for the comment and
welcome others. Creating
dialogues with people
who have done their own
research affords us the
opportunity to learn
from each other, and
ultimately come to a
consensus on what is the
best path to take in
managing our precious
resources. |
Just to refresh you– the
State of Texas changed
the rules and definition
of greywater discharge
in January 2005.
Washing machine water
can no longer be
considered greywater
suitable for discharge
directly onto the land.
One of the reasons given
for this was the fact
that fecal matter could
be discharged due to
washing baby diapers in
a washing machine that
discharges the water
through a greywater
system. I made a
flippant remark to the
effect of who washes
cloth diapers anymore. I
have come to
understand that a number
of people are choosing
to use cloth diapers and
wash them instead of
disposables, which end
up in our landfills.
Using disposables puts
an enormous amount of
bulk in the landfills,
and because synthetics
are one of the
components, they will
remain there for
centuries. On the other
side of the coin, cloth
diapers need to be
washed, which takes
another precious
resource – water.
If the diaper is washed
in a top loading washing
machine, if takes
anywhere between 45 to
55 gallons per load of
diapers! |
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Several of our natural
resources are being
consumed faster than we
can replenish them due
to the nature of the
resource and increasing
consumption. In the
scenario of using
disposable diapers vs.
cloth diapers and
washing them, and you
have to pick one to
focus one, which one do
you choose? This is a
dilemma that I struggle
with and I am sure
others do also. |
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I tend to focus on
saving water because I
feel that it is being
consumed much more
rapidly. But, I am also
trying to significantly
reduce my consumption of
items that end up in the
landfills. In the past
there have been a lot of
communications to
educate the public on
recycling. In addition
to recycling, we are
beginning to see public
campaigns to communicate
the importance of
reducing and reusing. I
believe reducing is the
key. |
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