When it comes to growing your environmental footprint, your toilet probably isn’t at the top of your list…
Did you know that when you flush your toilet fresh water is used? If your toilet is an older model it can use up to 26 litres for a single flush, with newer models using up to 7 litres. Even though this number is significantly reduced, when you consider the number of times your family flushes during a single day, the litres start to add up.
“Saving water is imperative with many provinces within South Africa facing drought conditions and dams running dry,” comments Bronwyn Ragavan, brand manager for Organico. “Every small change we make to grow our environmental footprint and stop our wastage of water, is a step in the right direction.”
When it comes to your toilet there are different ways in which to reduce the amount of water used when flushing:
- If possible, install a low flow toilet. Going from using 26 litres of water to using 7 litres of water makes a huge difference, one that will also extend to your water bill.
- It is understandable that not everyone can simply change their toilet to reduce their water usage. Placing a plastic bottle filled with water in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water needed to flush your toilet is also a water saver.
- Use Organico to get rid of your waste without using water. Organico is an alternative eco-friendly treatment for toilets, pit latrines and septic tanks, and uses natural micro-organisms and enzymes to degrade faecal waste and all waste matter. This action combined with its carefully formulated fragrance, reduces waste and eliminates odour, while preventing insects attracted to the smell, thereby decreasing the risk of spreading germs.
- Always check to make sure that your toilet is not leaking. This is huge source of water wastage. To check simply put food dye into the tank water, and should this colour appear in the bowl, you have a leak that needs to be fixed.
- It is not necessary to flush after every toilet trip. The saying “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” was created for a reason, and if you are looking for ways to save water, there is no need to always flush after a number one.
- Don’t flush any other items down the toilet. There is no need to waste a flush on something that can be thrown away in a dustbin or recycled.
“Small, simple changes to your daily habits can make big changes to the environment in the future. If we start with something as small as looking at the way we flush our toilets, our actions will yield large results,” explains Ragavan.
Water is our most precious commodity, and if we are not careful about the way in which we use it, water shortages are going to increase throughout the country and have negative consequences on all South Africans.
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