Grey water recycling

Mains water that is used in the house then re-used elsewhere is called ‘grey water’. Grey water is the washing machine water,basin, shower water etc. It is not the toilet water which is termed ‘black water’

Recycled grey water is commonly used on the garden but some systems allow you to use the water for flushing the toilet. Best practice for the garden is to use subsurface irrigation. This means an irrigation pipe with holes or drippers is laid under the soil/mulch. Grey water is not recommended for watering of edible plants. Systems vary widely, some have self cleaning storage tanks while other have no storage and deliver direct to the garden.

Rebates are available for collection systems/pumps and for irrigation pipe.

Recycling of your mains water is a really good idea for Perth. Because we can have very long dry spells, recycling your shower water onto the garden means that even if it hasn't rained for a month you still have free water for your garden without having to have a commercial sized tank. We all shower and wash our clothes regularly no matter if it has rained or not so this system makes a lot of sense for WA homes.