Homeowners in unsewered areas can choose greener systems than septics.

MANY years ago, John Eldridge decided to retrofit the septic tank on his Red Hill property with a worm farm treatment system. The system, made by A & A Worm Farm Waste Systems in Hastings, works the same way as the forest floor, he says. “In the forest you’ve got all sorts of things dropping out of the trees – twigs, bird poo, the odd dead bird – and the water that falls is filtered through it.

“At the top of the pile the material is coarse, but as it moves down it is broken down more finely.”

His worm farm mimics the natural composting process. “The material disintegrates in the liquid. We never need to pump it out and there is absolutely no smell at all,” he says. “We noticed a huge difference.”

Septic tanks are still the most common wastewater system in unsewered parts of Australia, but they don’t actively treat the wastewater to remove pathogens. The effluent must be disposed in trenches more than a foot deep, and the tanks regularly pumped out.

Like a septic tank, Mr Eldridge’s worm farm is classified as a primary treatment system.

Sarah West, from Environment Protection Authority Victoria, says secondary treatment systems are best for recycling the nutrients found in wastewater, by way of sub-surface irrigation. There are many kinds available, including aeration systems, reed beds, sand filters and trickle filters and some worm farms.

“With any of those higher quality secondary treatment systems, you are permitted to irrigate the effluent through the garden in the topsoil layer, where plants reuse the nutrients in the water,” Ms West says.

“Those nutrients are a resource, but septic tank trenches are too deep in the soil for most plants to access them.”

If you are planning a wastewater system in an unsewered area, Ms West suggests you first consider how you’d like to reuse the treated effluent. “Do you want to irrigate the garden, or use it in the home for toilet flushing?” she asks. “To recycle it back into the house, you need to choose a greywater treatment system approved for toilet flushing.”

But if you just want the treated water to irrigate the garden, you can use an all-waste method such as those listed above. Be aware that you must only use an EPA-approved onsite treatment system, and must obtain a permit from your local council.

The various technologies have very different ongoing costs. “Find out how often the system has to be serviced and how much electricity it consumes,” Ms West recommends. “Ask about the cost of spare parts and consumables – some need chlorine tablets or a new UV lamp every year.”

In Red Hill, Mr Eldridge opted for the worm farm system because it requires minimal ongoing maintenance and no chemical additives, and uses little power. “We have a small pump at the bottom of the tank, but it doesn’t run for very long,” he says. “The other advantage for us is that we can put any other organic matter in there, so it is an easy way to reduce our waste to landfill.”

The worms chomp through black and greywater, together with organic material such as vegie scraps, paper, cardboard and garden clippings. For a typical three-bedroom house, a new system costs about $8000 to $9000, including installation.

Read this article at The Age online

Bottling your own fruit and tomatoes saves money and much more.

It’s nearly harvest time: tomatoes are heavy on the vine and full fruits are ripening on trees. The glut need not go to waste because an old-time Australian invention can help you guzzle it for the rest of the year.

In 1915, Joseph Fowler began selling home-bottling equipment door-to-door in Melbourne, from the back of a cart. During the depression, his kits – known as Fowlers Vacola – became an essential item. At that time, the company’s ads featured an illustration of a dainty housewife by the name of Mrs B. Thrifty.

His bottling system is now finding favour with an altogether different generation. Footscray resident Janet Ray learnt the knack from her grandmother decades ago and has become a Fowlers enthusiast. She’s not alone.

“It’s thriving,” Ms Ray says, “particularly among people who want to know where their food comes from and want to reduce their carbon footprint through the way they eat. Once you get started it’s quite addictive – you look at fruit on trees in a totally different way.

“It’s something that not only creates no waste, but actually uses excess. Our recycling bin is empty, and we’re not using the fridge or freezer to maintain the fruit.”

Ms Ray shares her knowledge by running occasional workshops through the Permaculture Out West community group.

The process is straightforward, she says. Fill clean jars with unblemished fruit and add water (and sugar or fruit syrup, if you have a sweet tooth) to just below the rim. Clip on the lids and bring the jars to the boil over the course of one hour, in a water bath. When the jars cool down out of the water, the seals form a vacuum.

“It’s only for bottling high acid fruit, including tomatoes,” Ms Ray says. “Everything is sterilised in the process. Store the jars in a cool dark place and they’ll easily keep for up to a year.”

She stocks her jars with produce she grows at home, swaps or buys in bulk. “We save so much money. I never pay more than $1 per kilo for fruit to bottle, even at the organic market,” she says.

She recommends buying Fowlers jars second-hand from opshops or tip-shops. A dozen reusable jars can cost under $50, including the lids, seals and clips.

A few years ago, Ms Ray discovered a cache of Fowlers equipment at a fete run by St Margaret’s Uniting Church in Mooroolbark.

Through that network, she has established an informal supply chain extending well into country Victoria. The jars are sold to raise money for pastoral care services in Wycheproof, in the state’s drought ravaged north-west.

We’ve got this symbiotic relationship with the people of Wycheproof,” she says. “Any time someone in the aging population around there comes across a kit, they send it on. There’s been a steady flow over the last few years.”

With hindsight, the link doesn’t seem so unlikely. Ms Ray has found bottling to be a consistently rich means of connection with the community.

“People find out that you bottle and they’ll ring you up with fruit or drop it off at your door,” she says.

“It’s one of those old fashioned things that people long for, where you’re industrious together, to an end that meets everybody’s needs.”