permaculture

[<permed@nor.com.au>]

>Very interesting and very cool.  I commend you on the
>progress you have advanced. What is the first stage of
>the process where the effluent enters (comparable to a
>septic tank) where primary digestion occurs?  And do the solids pass through
>a grinder before entering this phase?
The flush toilet & kitchen wastewater goes diectly into a standard 1000 
litre septic tank where the solids settle out - no grinding or 
pre-treatment here. The waste water the gravity feeds into the reedbeds. 
We don't have one of those appaling grinding things in the sink as all 
our solid kitchen scraps go to the chickens or worm farm.

The other system has a simple 2-chamber grease trap for greywater before 
it flows into the reedbeds - once again no grinder. I do have to clean 
the accumulated muck off the top of the grease trap once or twice a year 
and process it through a rapid compost heap.
Robyn