The Gris greywater system saves up to 90 percent of water

When it comes to the scope of domestic water management, greywater or sullage (water derived from laundry and bathing) can be re-used for daily purposes like flushing and cleaning our floors. However, quite unfortunately, the currently available mechanisms for greywater recycling are too expensive or adhere to a complex installation procedure (that sometimes requires you to even change your bathroom’s sanitation system).

This is where the low-tech ‘Gris’ greywater system (by Alberto Vasquez) enters the forlorn picture. Envisaged as a simple conception tailored for developing countries, the design in actuality poses as a modular flooring system for your bathing area. Comprising of four square-shaped, detachable cells, the whole interlocking floor arrangement has a slightly concave slope at its center.

So, when you take a bath standing atop the Gris, the greywater from your bathing action gradually accumulates along this central slope. This central area in turn is connected individually to the cells, which allows the greywater to finally fill up the inside of the cells.

According to statistical estimates, we tend to use around 20 to 30 liters of water with each bath. In this regard, Gris greywater system can save up to 90 percent of this water volume for daily purposes. And since we are talking about the volumetric magnitude, the capacity of each cell of the system is 10 liters, thus bringing the total volume of the system to 40 liters.

Finally, coming to the usability credentials of the Gris greywater system, each of the detachable modular cells are light enough to be carried as buckets (when filled up). And, even their top surfaces are treated with granular material that avoids the chances of slipping when taking a bath.