Your Questions About Recycling

The Expert answers:

I’d imagine it would be OK for house plants. Note that this water will have a very high concentration of contaminants, some of them potentially harmful (such as heavy metals). I wouldn’t eat any plant that was watered with it.

And obviously if you were using the reverse osmosis to treat saltwater, you can’t use the saltwater on the plants.

The Expert answers:

Its NOT.
Well not where i come from anyway, i was born in scotland, the land of unlimited fresh water.
But in some poverty stricken places in asia, africa and south america there is a severe fresh drinking water shortage, so i can understand the statement if referring to or talking about a country in those continents. Sadly millions die because of a lack of fresh water in there parts of the world.
But you are right, all water on earth has been here for billions of years. And keeps getting re-cycled through the oceans evaporating into clouds then falling as fresh rain.
It just depends on were you live and were your from.
No1 in europe can waste water, no1 in america can waste water. We have abundant reservoirs, dams and fresh water lakes. But to process water for us to drink does take a considerable amount of electricirty in the factories, to kill all harmful bacteria and pathogens which may be present in the water, which in turn uses a lot of fossil fuel to produce this electricity. So when we see some1 leaving a tap running you should say – “stop wasting electricity / fossil fuels” instead of saying “stop wasting water”

The Expert answers:

What do you think your drinking right now? Your drinking water that has been used by humans, treated and dumped back into the ecosystem. If its dumped into the sea evaporation will pick it up and turn it into clouds, then once the dewpoint is reached it will fall down in convectional or orgraphic rainfall and reach back to the sea form runoff, or enter an aquifer, etc. So you see all water is recycled. So yes i would drink recycled waste water.

The Expert answers:

We need to conserve the remaining fresh water. Even though water can be treated and distilled, most people have an aversion to drinking recycled water from sewers. Our population is growing at such a rate that we are outstripping the water cycle. Farmers aren’t using recycled water for irrigation. They are using water from the Ogallala aquifer, which is our biggest source of clean freshwater. The level in the aquifer is dropping rapidly.
The world population is 6,674,067,889 as of 05:48 GMT (EST+5) Jun 14, 2008. U.S. Population has grown by 1.2% per year over the last 50 years. This “low” growth rate means it has taken only 58 years for our population to double. The world population is projected to grow from 6 billion in 1999 to 9 billion by 2042, an increase of 50 percent that will require 43 years.

The Expert answers:

When we drink water, we pee, and then our urine goes out
to the ocean and then water evaporated and it rains and
go down the river… And we drink it.

Water is naturally recycled.

The Expert answers:

Yes but rest assured, the feces and urine that once was in your drinking water came from another neighborhood, so at least you are not drinking your own ,…stuff, what ? You never saw those little floaters in there?

The Expert answers:

Here in Iowa, we have a 5 cent can and bottle redemption which, in respect for the redemption center workers, we are encouraged to bring them in rinsed and clean. So the question is, what’s more environmentally friendly? Do we use our city water (that we pay good money for every month) to help the redemption centers or recycling centers stay clean and free of insects and vermin so they can continue to recycle aluminum and plastic or do we try to save our endangered water supply? Both could be a blessedly moot point if we all stop drinking pop! I haven’t for years and I don’t miss it at all. It’s not good for you in any flavor, sweetness or color according to may studies. It’s even being looked at as the basic source of our country’s obesity problem, diet pop included! How’s that for an option everyone? Drink a glass of water from your tap and treat your body to this thirst quenching, easily digestible resource. No cans or bottles needed!

The Expert answers:

– Tankless water heaters – you don’t waste energy keeping the tank warm, and they even get you a tax credit.

– Combine errands into one big run and don’t idle when you are driving

-If your power company has the option, buy a portion of your electricity in renewable energy. My power company already sold out of its allocation of wind power, but I’m on a waiting list for it.

The Expert answers:

C.