We are working on wastewater treatment in villages of Maharashtra, India. We are exploring if kitchen garden is safe option in the places where soak pits don't function. Waste water from kitchen and bathroom contain soap, detergent powder, shampoo, hair dyes etc. If this water is given to the kitchen garden, do roots absorb these materials? Do these harmful materials enter food chain? If no, which plants should be considered for the kitchen garden?
becuase of uncertain load of nutrients from detergants, and other ususal wastes of the kitchens, its better to use it with attention. may be some techniques like still basin, or evaluating before usage is better.
best wishes
Arash is right. If possible use rainwater for your garden. But I figger that this is a problem due to climatic conditions?
All the best
If you are using water from kitchen, it would probably also has a lot of grease, in this case, it is not recommended to used it directly over plants. First you would have to install a grease filter.
You also need to investigate which species can tolerate or even storage pollutants, and be careful not to eat them because you do not know which are the pollutants the water has.
Therefore, if you are planning to recycle water for plants it would be better to build containers to avoid filtration to phreatic aquifers
Waste water from the household is also called "Gray water". There are papers, when and for which species it can be used. I recommend that you read the papers on this topic so you will be much clearer.
Saša Kostić Can you please suggest the papers which can help in this case?
Frank Veroustraete We are trying to recycle gray water in order to improve sanitation in the villages. But we want make sure that due care is taken we use gray water for the kitchen garden.
Let me give a caution. Household wash water-also called "graywater"-contains food residues and other organic matter that may attract insects and rodents. It also may contain bacteria and viruses that could cause illness. Public health officials have indicated that it may be used for home irrigation-but only in localities where no other water is available for that purpose. Here are some guidelines: (1) The safest household use of "graywater" is to flush toilets. (Don't put it in the tank; pour it directly into the bowl.) (2) Don't let it touch the edible parts of plants. (3) Use it only as a temporary measure during a water shortage crisis. In any case, check with your local health and building officials before making any use of "graywater."
Plants do not absorbs detergents, etc (as you have mentioned) however these can adsorb to the surface of the edible parts of the plants s care has to be taken to avoid that. on the other hand, you can also be polluting the soils in long run. The best is to analyse the water and follow the correct treatment options before use. All the best!
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