Farewell to "Flush and Forget"

DEVELOPMENT: Farewell to "Flush and Forget"
Analysis by Lester R. Brown

WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (IPS) - In urban settings, the one-time use of water to disperse human and industrial wastes is becoming an outmoded practice, made obsolete by new technologies and water shortages.

Water enters a city, becomes contaminated with human and industrial wastes, and leaves the city dangerously polluted. Toxic industrial wastes discharged into rivers and lakes or into wells also permeate aquifers, making water -- both surface and underground -- unsafe for drinking. And their toxic wastes are destroying marine ecosystems, including local fisheries.

The time has come to manage waste without discharging it into the local environment, allowing water to be recycled indefinitely and reducing both urban and industrial demand dramatically.

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