Recycling bathroom sink grey water with the AQUS system

The AQUS system by Watersaver Technologies is a fantastic example of green design and ingenuity. The Aqus system catches the water from your vanity basin, filters and disinfects it, and stores it until the next time you need to flush your toilet. The system then sends to stored water to your toilet cistern reducing the amount of town water necessary to simply flush your toilet. It is designed to be easily retrofitted into existing fixtures. Gravity and a small electric pump transport the water from the 21 Litre holding tank installed under the sink to your toilet cistern. A valve in the toilet cistern prevents fresh water inflow as long as sufficient water is available in the Aqus to do the job, when the Aqus runs low, the normal toilet valve for incoming water will serve the demand.



The system retails for about US$200, but unfortunately is only available in the US at the moment. Hopefully someone will look to import this to Australia because there is a definite market here for such a simple and inexpensive product.

Caroma in Australia have made a toilet suite called the Profile, see below, which achieves a similar result. But in our opinion there are significant psychological hurdles to over come with their cistern and the perception that one is washing their hands 'in the toilet cistern'.




In our opinion, the Aqus is the way to go.

Guilt free household downlighting

The current fashion for peppering whole house interiors with low voltage downlights has a couple significant drawbacks, they are extremenly energy inefficient and have a very short lifespan. Most people wrongly presume that because the light fittings are low voltage, that means low energy use. This is not the case. Low voltage simply means that the voltage used at each light fitting has been reduced, this is then wasted as lost heat. Most of the standard downlight globes are 50 watt, only sligtly less than a normal 60 watt incandescent globe. So there is no energy saving there.

So what is the solution if you want guilt free downlighting?. Replace your standard downlight globes with compact fluorescent fittings from a company such as Megaman. Most compact fluroescent globes are only around 11 watts, 80% less than the standard downlight fittings and will have a life up to 10 times longer.

Get them from Neco

The perils of vinyl flooring in your home.

Vinyl flooring, made from PVC or Poly Vinyl Chloride, is one material that we believe should not be on the market. PVC is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and when we throw it out.


During the manufacture of PVC, dioxins are a by-product due vinyl having a high chlorine content. There are also documented links between workers exposed to the manufacture of PVC and cancer.



Whilst installed in your home, PVC will off gass dangerous chemicals. That new vinyl floor smell, that's them. Also, in order to make PVC flexible, a chemical called phthalates is added. Phthalates are a suspected carcinogen and reproductive toxicant. Think about that next time your baby or young children are down playing on a vinyl floor.


And finally, recycling PVC has generally been a failure. Compared to other plastic type products, PVC contains far more chemicals and is therefore harder and more expensive to recycle. When inadvertently mixed with other easily recyclable plastics, whole batch lots of recyclable materials are rendered unrecyclable. When dumped into landfill, PVC leaches chemicals into the environment. And when burnt, as it is often for energy, it releases dioxins again.

The good news is that there are much safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly products on the market. Think about using Linoleum, cork, sustainable timber, stone or tiles and even natural rubber.

How eco friendly is bamboo?

Bamboo flooring is being touted and the sustainable savior of the timber floor. It is fast growing, it takes around 5 years to be ready to harvest, and uses less energy to harvest than traditional forms of timber.

"C'mon everyone, here is the guilt free timber floor of the future" cries the marketing for bamboo flooring. However, do your homework before you buy.

As fast growing as bamboo may be, there are a lot of question marks over the remainder of it's green credentials.

• most bamboo comes from China so it has to be shipped into the country
• currently no bamboo on the market comes with any third part certification of the sustainability of their forestry and harvesting practices
• because bamboo is an engineered product, most of them use formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) adhesives to glue the bamboo together
• bleaching is necessary to provide the uniform appearance that most bamboo has
• the working conditions of the bamboo producers employees is generally unknown, as is their exposure to these dangerous substances.

In many instances it is more sustainable to use a locally recycled timber floor or virgin timber from a certified sustainably managed forest.

We are not saying "don't use bamboo", our advice is to do your homework. Ask the hard questions before you get pressured by the marketing hype. What adhesives are used to manufacture the product? is it bleached during manufacturing? what can you tell me about the forestry practices of the producer?

If you are informed, you will get the best product.

Creating healthy indoor environments for children

Green building is not just about water and energy efficiency, indoor air quality and a healthy home are equally as important.

Traditionally the majority of the products and materials that were used to create homes and their interiors off gassed many toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, PBDEs and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These are really bad chemicals with a multitude of adverse effects from respiratory issues through to cancer. Children are are the greatest risk from exposure due to their size and immature bodies.

Healthy Child Healthy World is a US based not for profit who define their mission as "Healthy Child Healthy World is dedicated to protecting the health and well being of children from harmful environmental exposures.We educate parents, support protective policies, and engage communities to make responsible decisions, simple everyday choices, and well-informed lifestyle improvements to create healthy environments where children and families can flourish."

Check out their website, it is a wealth of information.

Husque bowls and table-wares

The Husque range of products are the result of melding recycled macadamia nut shells with a polymer to form a dense mould able material similar to Bakelite from the 1930s.

The Australian design company was formed in 2003 by product designer Marc Harrison and architect/artist Paul Fairweather to develop the product into a range of product and architectural applications.

For those who don't know, the macadamia nut is a native to Eastern Australia.

Their products are available in Australia, Canada and Singapore.

MIO design

MIO is a design company based out Philadelphia in the US who describe their philosophy as being driven by 'responsible desire'. Run by Jaime and Isaac Salm, all of their products use materials that can be easily recycled within existing infrastructures, fit into closed loop manufacturing systems available today or fit seamlessly with natural ecosystems. Their capsule lamp above is made from 100% wool felt and is recyclable and compostable.


Most of they products are well designed and make good use of sustainable materials, such as the ModuTiles above which are made from reconstituted cork and the Nomad System wall dividers below which are made from recycled kraft paper.

Celery - green kids furniture

Celery makes cool modern and green kids furniture. All of their furniture has a modern simplicity about it.

The furniture is made from sustainable bamboo or formaldehyde free medium density fibre board, uses no screws or glues, and has low/no voc finishes.


The rocking chair and rocking pony above are typical of their product range.

Forbo Marmoleum click

We have been big fans of marmoleum for some time due to its green attributes. The mix of natural materials used in its manufacture such as linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, jute and limestone as well as its hard wearing properties make it a highly underrated flooring material. One of the problems we have always had is that generally most of the product range is targeted and commercial and industrial uses, not residential.

Not anymore, Forbo has now come up with Marmoleum click.


Marmoleum click is a range of marmoleum floor tiles that come in 300mm x 300mm tiles or 300mm x 910mm panels, specifically aimed at the residential market. The tiles join together using a unique click system and come in a broad range of funky colours.

Perfect for anyone wanting the ability to personalise their space using a green flooring material.

Wambamboo

Wambamboo is sustainable furniture designed by Kent Gration in Queensland Australia.

His Wambamboo range of furniture uses sustainable production methods including recyclable materials, water-based finishes, energy-saving fluorescent lamps and ballasts and where possible, natural fibres.

The Costello seat, below, is an ergonomically designed prototype seat. Its form creates a mosaic of cross-laminated bamboo which highlights the exotic nature of the material.

The Abbott lamp is a bamboo veneer shade which emits a warm natural glow in any space it illuminates. The structural frame is produced from cross-laminated bamboo and all components are flat-packable for easy erection. The lamp also incorporates energy-efficient bulbs and universal electronic ballasts.

The sycamore ceiling fan

The Sycamore fan was developed in Australia by industrial designers Danny Gasser and Michael Hort.
It took Danny and Michael over a year to achieve their aim of making a beautiful, quiet, efficient fan blade which matched the airflow of conventional fans, while operating at lower speed.


The aerofoil profile of the fan blade, above left, has been designed to operate at a low speed of 70-130rpm, whilst delivering the same airflow as a conventional flat blade, above right, which operates at around 140-200rpm.

Operating at lower speeds not only makes the fan quieter and more comfortable to have on, but it will also consume less energy.

Get it from Beacon Lighting for around $700.

Keeping the London Routemaster bus alive

Textile designer Becky Oldfield of Lost and Found is responsible for ensuring that the classic symbol of London, the double decker routemaster bus, soesn't disappera from anyones memory.

She has taken the route rollers that displayed the bus number and destinations and turned them into internal blinds, ensuring that you will forever know which bus goes to Clapham.

California leads the way on formaldehyde reduction

The Californian State Government has recently introduced world leading legislation working towards a total ban on the use of formaldehyde in timber board products.

There is no known safe level of formaldehyde exposure. As much as 400 tons of formaldehyde is emitted by building materials each year in California, specifically from composite wood products, leading to hazardous formaldehyde concentrations in the air of homes, schools and offices.

The World Health Organization and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment have both identified formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen. Formaldehyde is also suspected of being an asthma trigger as well as contributing to building related illnesses and multiple chemical sensitivity.

This is a seriously bad product and the Californian Government can only be commended for taking such a lead.

Only last week is Australia a range of Sheridan Sheets was found to have up to 10 times the acceptable level of formaldehyde.

Parans natural lighting system

The Swedish Parens natural lighting system employs a new technology to bring sunlight into buildings using fiber optic cables.

Natural sunlight is the highest quality light available. The Parens system collects sunlight outdoors and brings it indoors through fibre optic cables. The system is the perfect solution to providing natural light to rooms and areas which for various reasons can't obtain natural lighting. What is more, a complete building utilising the Parens System would require no artificial lighting during the day drastically reducing the buildings energy consumption.

Parens has an excellent animation on their website which shows exactly how the systems works. A 1.0m x 1.0m solar collector is mounted on either the roof or facade of the building.
The sunlight is then concentrated into the fibre optic cables which run through the building to the lighting locations. The Parens luminaries are hybrid in design so that when the natural lighting level drops, the fittings switch to mains power and provide artificial lighting.

Most if the installations to date have been in Europe, however it won't be long before the system will be desirable throughout the world.

Haasch reclaimed lighting

Haasch is an Australian based collaboration between Jan and Alison Schutt. Haash makes a collection of lighting from printed circuit boards 'rescued' from going to landfill.

Their website has a range of light fittings that they produce and standard items, but they are also able to create modifications or one offs as required.

Peter Danko sustainable furniture

Peter Danko is a US based designer and manufacturer of sustainable furniture. Peter likes to see himself a a type of eco-modernist, a design style that embraces the marriage of sustainability and industrial production. The atmos lounge chair above is typical of his work. The timber for the chair is FSC certified European Beech, the webbing is made from recycled car seat belts and adhesives and finishes are all water based.



Another example above is the greenbelt tandem seat. The webbing belts are recycled, the timber certifies and the adhesives and finishes all water based.

He has a range of chairs and tables all embracing sustainable philosophies in their sourcing of materials and manufacture.

Viesso green furniture

Viesso is a furniture designer and manufacturer with a difference. Their product is fully customisable via an on-line ordering tool on their website and can be delivered in 3 weeks (unfortunately the US only). All timber used is FSC certified and they have a number of green options for all of their furniture. Fabrics are natural or are made from recycled materials, fillings include natural materials such as latex or are made from recycled materials, steel used for feet is made from recycles materials and finally they are establishing a program where consumers can return their unwanted furniture to Viesso for recycling.

eco smart fireplaces

EcoSmart is an Australian company that has come up with an environmentally friendly open fireplace. The fireplaces are flue less and do not require any installation or connection to a fuel supply, making them ideal for just about any architectural environment.

The fireplaces are fuelled by denatured ethanol which is a renewable fuel source that burns clean and is virtually maintenance free. In Australia denatured ethanol is known simply as methylated spirits. The methylated spirits is housed in a sealed container within the fireplace which eco smart claims can provide up to 7 hours of heating on maximum and 20 hours heating on minimum

Ecosmart has a large range of fireplaces ranging from traditional models through the modern installations such as the Element model shown above.

Artemis ceiling fan

California based G Squared have a impressive collection of well designed ceiling fans, perfect for for those who don't want to sacrifice design style whilst seeking to have a more sustainable house.

Designed by Mark Gajewski, the Artemis fan (above) has won the GOOD DESIGN award at the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.

The Artemis has a fantastic organic form and aerodynamic design. It's sleek and sophisticated and it simply blends into any contemporary design with its transparency.

All of Marks "cool" fans can be bought online directly from the G Squared website, the Artemis sells for US $399.95, what a bargain.

Sustainable timber lamp shades

Sixixis in the UK are behind this fantastic curling, scrolling and rolling timber lampshade. Sixixis is three young design graduates from Falmouth College of the Arts. A lot of their work is making funky 3D bent and rolled objects out of the local en seasoned Cornish Ash.

The lampshade above, called the curly shade for obvious reasons, is a handmade work of art. The fitting has been also designed with the environment in mind, designed to use an 18watts low energy bulb which can give out the same light as a regular 100 watt bulb