Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Muslim
Making the Unclean Clean: God’s Redemption in a Toilet Bowl

Making the Unclean Clean: God’s Redemption in a Toilet Bowl

Last updated on: March 17, 2021 at 6:08 pm by irfanrydhan

Making the Unclean Clean: God’s Redemption in a Toilet Bowl 2021-03-17T18:08:36-06:00 irfanrydhan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

With the push of a button or the pull of a handle, our faces and wastewater disappear. However, did you know that almost 80% of wastewater in the world is not reused or treated? This is a shocking statistic when we learn that over 2.4 billion people lack access to safe, clean water and sanitation. In fact, in many countries, the untreated wastewater from one individual may end up being the drinking water of another. But how do we end this problem? Is there anything we can do to make the unclean clean once again? Keep reading below to find out more:

The Damaging Effect of Wastewater

As People of Faith, we all know that our sins have a damaging effect on the world around us, sometimes we sin without even realising. This can be compared to wastewater in a sewerage system. We often do not think about the water that comes into our toilet or the waste water that drains away when we have a bath. However, this does not mean that wasting water is not having a damaging effect on the world around us.

How Sewerage Systems Work

In an operational sewerage system, the wastewater from our showers, sinks, toilets, and washing machines leave our home through a series of pipes. They then travel to a water treatment plant to be sanitised. Once the treatment is complete, the water is discharged back into the sea or rivers. The contaminants from this waste are then taken to a landfill site.

Can Untreated Wastewater Cause Damage?

As we mentioned above, almost 80% of wastewater is not reused or treated. This wastewater contains phosphorus and nitrogen. If this water is released into the sea or rivers, it can cause algae to bloom. These algae consume the oxygen in the water that fish need to survive. Thanks to this, a dead zone is created in the water.

How Should We Overcome the Problem?

As you can tell from the evidence above, wastewater treatment solutions are desperately needed. However, although it may be easy to assume that we should build sanitization solutions like the ones in the UK and the US, these types of solutions are not always appropriate for other parts of the world e.g., rural communities, dry climates, and urban slums.

Instead of trying to use the sanitization solutions we use in developed countries, we need to start thinking of new ways to overcome this problem. Perhaps, as an alternative to seeing wastewater as a problem to be eliminated, a new idea is to recover beneficial resources such as energy, nutrients, and water from wastewater.

What Resources can be Recovered from Wastewater?

Nutrients are the first example of a resource that can be recovered. The nutrients found in wastewater can be used for several things including as a slow-release fertilizer for agriculture. Another example of a resource we can extract from wastewater is usable water. While this type of water may not be suitable for drinking, it can be used for things like watering golf courses and farmers’ fields. This is much better than piping extracted water hundreds of miles from the ever-shrinking ground supplies.

Energy is another example. The energy in wastewater can be used to add more energy to the grid. In fact, research suggests that wastewater contains nine times the amount of energy needed to treat wastewater.

The Process of Recovering Resources from Wastewater

One proven technology is anaerobic digestion, which creates methane. This technology uses bacteria to convert organic carbon in wastewater into electricity.

While it is easy to disconnect yourself from problems that are not on your doorstep, and it is easy to ignore how water arrives and departs from your home, these problems are happening, and we cannot ignore them any longer. Ignoring these problems comes at a cost, not only for our local or global neighbors but also for the environment too.

God is always in our hearts: out of care for God’s creation and out of love for our friends, family, and neighbors, we need to start using less water at home by showering for shorter periods, turning off the taps, eating less meat, and throwing out less food. By doing this, we can advocate for international approaches to provide better sanitation for the people who need it.

Previous Post

March 17, 2021

The Artistic Foodies Podcast: Episode 1 (Halal Restaurant Week 2020)

Next Post

March 25, 2021 3 Expert tips on how to organize an important event

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism Architecture Art Books/Magazines Business Education Event Planning Finance Food HalalEats Unplugged Podcast Interfaith Islam Media Politics Religion Self Help The Artistic Foodies Podcast Travel TV/Film Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 June 2026 February 2026 December 2025 July 2025 June 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 June 2023 November 2022 September 2022 April 2022 February 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 April 2019 February 2019 December 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 June 2017 May 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 May 2016 March 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 July 2015 May 2015 January 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 March 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 October 2010 August 2010 April 2010 February 2010 January 2010 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was Moses' father's name?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Amram Arron Abiathar Apollos