Greywater Filter

We build a Reed Bed (Helophyte) filter that we use to filter the greywater from our kitchen sink and shower. Our system is made using the bottom half of an IBC tote and filling this with the next materials

1. The first 25 cm is filled with lava stone (or another poreus rock)
2. Geotextile is placed on the rocks to seperate them from the soil
3. Compost soil is added until you reach 10 cm under the top edge.
4. We planted a mix of plants, known for their ability to absorb nutrients from greywater. If we could do it again we would choose only indigenous plants, below you find some good options:
1. Kalmoes (Acorus calamus)
2. Grote Lisdodde (Typha latifolia)
3. Gele Lis (Iris pseudoacorus)
4. Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus)
5. Shell grit is evenly scattered over the surface to spread out rain drops. Later we replaced this by adding some leaves as mulch.
6. We added a grease filter between the kitchen sink and the helophyte filter. This is made with a big sieve with some straw inside. The straw captures the grease and bigger pieces of food. We clean and add new straw every month.
7. It is good to add some stones underneath the grease filter to avoid the water to create a puddle in the soil. This way the water can evenly spread across the soil.
8. Depending on the intensity of your kitchen and shower, you can make a chain of multiple filter systems, so the water is thoroughly cleaned before it goes back into the natural environment.