You’d have to be living under a rock not to know anything about recycling these days. From the roadside collection of papers, aluminum cans and plastic bottles, to creative ways to reuse old and broken items, people all across America are jumping on the recycling bandwagon to help make the world a better—and less littered—place. Nearly everything that people use can be recycled to some form or extent, from completely melting down metal or glass to create new items, to creating art, apparel or useful home and garden implements from discarded or secondhand belongings.
One very important type of recycling that affects everyone on the planet—whether they recycle or not—is the conserving and reusing of one of our most precious natural resources: water. We can’t live without it, but many people take water for granted, especially those of us who live in developed countries and have a hard time understanding how so many of the less fortunate struggle to obtain clean, drinkable water every day. You may already know about the importance of conserving water by using less, but you might be surprised to hear about different, creative ways to save water that not only benefit the environment, but can save you money on your utility bill.
How Can You Reuse and Recycle Your Family’s Water?
Some of the most common ways that many households conserve water include installing low-flow faucets, shower heads, toilets and washing machines. Using less water can save a family 40,000 gallons a year and cut up to a third of their water bill. If each family in the U.S. pitched in this way, billions of gallons of water and millions of dollars would be saved every day!
But saving water can go beyond just using less of it. Families can take a few extra steps to recycle the water they’re already using. These ways can include:
There are other creative ways that families can work together to reuse and recycle their water. It’s a great idea to involve children in your household conservation projects, to let them come up with ideas of their own and instill in them a deep respect for our resources and environment.
How Water Recycling Benefits the Larger Environment
Recycling water has an even more large-scale effect on communities than that enjoyed by the individual household. Many water treatment plants treat gray water for a variety of community uses, including watering the lawns at parks and golf courses or using in construction and maintenance jobs. This water can also be used to replenish wetlands, conserving habitats for threatened plants and animals. The risks of pollution and disease are also greatly decreased by properly treating and recycling water. Additionally, water recycling greatly benefits the economy by providing jobs in the water treatment, processing and research fields, as well as the tourism industry when recycled water helps to preserve and enhance local attractions.
When every citizen considers it his or her responsibility to respect the limited amount of water available to us, the result will be more clean, fresh water to go around for everyone.