Recycling & Graywater in Seattle

Since Earth Day 1970, individual consciousness has driven slow change to increase recycling programs within communities across the country. Still today, we have a reputation as the #1 trash-producing country in the world [2] at 4.4 pounds per person [1]. Unfortunately our per capita production of trash has remained above 4 pounds since 1990 [1]. At the same time, at least our per capita rate has been slowly declining since 2000 [1]. According to the EPA, in the United States in 2014, 258 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) was generated, and 89 of that was recycled or composted (34.6%) [1]. Only 1/3! Simultaneously, the percent of recycled and composted materials has steadily increased since 1990 (from 16%) -- we must remember sustainable change is slow.

Of the 258 million tons of MSW, our highest contributors are paper and paperboard (26%) and food/yard waste (28.2%) [1]. To give you a visual: Americans throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12 foot high wall from Seattle to NY (a new wall every year) [2]. Of the 136 tons put in landfills and 33 tons combusted-- the highest percent is food (21%) [1]. In fact, almost half of the food in the U.S. goes to waste - approximately 3,000 pounds per second [2]. Can you believe this figure? What an incredible problem to try and wrap your brain around. We must ask, for what end is so much paper being generated (and the cutting down of trees) and imagine how much space would be saved in landfills (and CO2 emissions) if every home could properly maintain a compost pile. The separate issue of so much food waste in a world of undernourished and starving people is a whole other conversation...

This is painful for me to consider, and perhaps is for you too. To remain optimistic, we can celebrate our successes. The 34.6% of MSW diverted from combustion or landfill in 2014, this saved us 181 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions [1]. This means if we keep investing in recycling technology and programs we can also continue to reduce CO2 emissions. In places like Seattle, we have strong recycling programs that most people participate in. It's true that Seattle does a good job of recycling unconventional items -such as cooking oil- while educating the public through their website and annual mailings. We also have groups like Buy Nothing on Facebook where people can donate unwanted items, that their neighbors might treasure. Some people might argue we're already doing a great job in Seattle--it's other parts of the country we need to worry about--which we cannot control, so this conversation is somewhat unnecessary. 

This is where I currently live; am I doing all I can to conserve it's resources? Well, I am not maintaining my own compost pile, nor am I actively recycling water. What is stopping me? Is it because 'I don't have to'?

The bigger picture is to address conservation--and to ask yourself the question, could you call yourself a conservationist? Also, what does it mean to be a conservationist in today's world? I believe to be a conservationist in our area means both reducing our consumption and reducing pollution, and regularly assessing our individual habits. Also not settling for what seems to be good enough, because in our culture we are used to being comfortable and have extreme notions of what resources are "necessary". On an individual level, asking the question, "Do I have more than I need, and what do I really need?" is probably not something we do enough of. On a societal level, fortunately Seattle seems to be doing "good enough": we have great programs to address conservation and tackle some of our local issues, including RainWise, Adopt-A-Drain, Trees for Neighborhoods, King Conservation District grants, green stormwater infrastructure projects, and on an administrative level we are even discussing Climate Change.

With strong systems already in place, we can begin to ask how we might improve inefficiencies (in addition to making changes on an individual level). One obvious question for our area is water conservation, which we possibly don't think about because we are surrounded by it. I think about this every time I am drinking tap water and smell chlorine. We haven't had to face shortages very often (except the Summer of 2016) however that is something that will likely shift in the future with climate change. So we need to begin to ask the questions now. Our two major watersheds, Tolt and Cedar, supply water for 1.4 million people in Seattle, through 18,000 miles of pipeline [3]. Although on their website, Seattle Public Utilities suggest ways to "Reduce Water Use", nowhere do they talk about graywater. It's fascinating that as progressive as Seattle is, even on their sister website savingwater.org, there is no specific mention of graywater. Other areas in the country that are facing dramatic water shortages (like California) might provide case studies (like the City of Berkeley) to show how water recycling programs can be institutionalized.

Sweet ass DIY Compost Toilet on a farm I visited recently

Well we don't have to wait for the city to catch up, yet DIY Graywater is not something we do in our household (except from the dehumidifier-every time it fills up, my roommate dumps it somewhere in the garden). Again I will suggest that we have been too relaxed about this particular topic because we haven't "needed" to recycle water. How long will our abundance last? How long will it take to fund and install graywater systems on a city-wide scale once shortages  become more commonplace? As citizens of Seattle, we can be more pro-active pushing legislators to create programs or regulations to utilize graywater technology. All we really need to do is turn to resources like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State Department of Health to learn more about recycling water and how to make it safe, as well as how to educate lawmakers. The City clearly projects future climate changes: sea-level rise (drainage and flooding problems), extreme precipitation (again drainage and flooding problems), extreme heat (drought and water resource allocation problems), and hydrology changes in general [4]. If they are truly concerned about these future scenarios, they will need to look at solutions that include graywater.

For more information about the possibility of graywater systems in Seattle, check out Seattle Graywater Initiative, where you can contact Patrick Loderhose and get his perspective on the best way to nudge Seattle along. And for someone like me, who needs to put their talk to action, I  need to reflect on DIY solutions I can do in my own home now, that my roommates will tolerate.

I still am not sure how to address my own lazy conservationist tendencies. I've heard the saying "Necessity is the Mother of Invention"," but with an awareness of a changing climate, and that I can do better, I need to do the work of shifting my patterns. I'm not sure what it will take but it's good for me to admit out loud. A possible starting point.


Works Cited

[1] "Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. November 19, 2017. https://www.epa.gov/smm/advancing-sustainable-materials-management-facts-and-figures
[2] "General Recycling Facts." Recycle Across America. Web. November 19, 2017. http://www.recycleacrossamerica.org/recycling-facts
[3] "Water." Seattle Public Utilities. Web. November 26, 2017. https://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/index.htm
[4] "Projected Climate Changes." Seattle Public Utilities. Web. November 26, 2017. https://www.seattle.gov/util/EnvironmentConservation/ClimateChangeProgram/ProjectedChanges/index.htm