Bio-Green Soaps and Detergents for a Greener World

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Author's backyard greened with help of kitchen waste water
 
While we hear of water shortages in California, several arid parts of the world have had to manage with little water for centuries. Human habitations exist in semi desert areas of the world that have little green growth around them A partial solution to this problem is to direct water used for bathing and washing clothes to a patch of green near the dwelling while directing toilet water to a septic tank and growing trees around it. Fruit Trees or a grape wine grown around it would only have to be watered a little for a couple of years. thereafter their roots shall find the nutrient rich septic discharge to convert the shit back to the fruit it came from :)

One difficulty with directing waste water from washings to plants is that some of the available soaps and detergents harm plants and ruin the soil, some more than others, whereas some could even benefit certain plants. But, how does a consumer know which is which? That is where the Bio- Green label comes in that can tell a customer that the detergent water is safe for soil and plants. The industry is welcome to use this idea and even copy the label at the bottom of this note for non-exclusive use with others who may wish to do the same. If you give credit to this blogger it will be appreciated but it is not necessary. It will tell the consumer of a cleaning product that waste water generated by its use may be used for watering plants with a reasonable assurance that it would not harm most plants. There is a great market out there waiting for you in California presently. Some redesign of the plumbing would have to be done to direct the water properly.

In my home as well my father’s home earlier we have taken a chance without the bio-green label. While the results have been great with kitchen water (see the backyard photo above) the results were mixed with detergents. A patch of crotons did amazingly well with it but then another time it seemed to spoil the soil and I have a dwarfed lemon tree at home because of that. It appears that detergents containing sodium, chlorine bleach, boron etc. may have negative effects while potassium, ammonia and phosphate show good effects on plant growth. Detergents containing harmful ingredients cause damage to the soil structure by raising alkalinity of soil. They may can also kill the good bacteria. On the other hand some plants with low concentration of some detergents show signs of better growth and development.

All this needs more research by the industry that may sell Bio-Green detergents with a small book of instructions. Feel free to use the logo design non-exclusively with others on a corner of the package if you like as a gift from this blogger towards a greener planet. Any detergent or soap manufacturer can create a new profit stream by creating a separate bio-green variety along with their usual one for arid areas and to green the world.

Waste water generated by  use of this product may be used for watering plants with  reasonable assurance that it would not harm most plants

Comments

Ramakrishnan said…
Great suggestion. Well worth consideration of soap & detergent manufacturers.This may become very essential and critical as the years and decades roll by when the populations will continue to bulge the planet and the already scarce resources to shrink !
April 18, 2015 at 3:42 AM
ProfAshok said…
Thanks a lot Ramakrishnan for adding you voice to the move. Hope it catches the fancy of some of the detergent people out there so that they do their bit to make the world greener..
April 18, 2015 at 9:26 AM
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