Cradle 2 Cradle Islands

Wetsus is taking part in the European project Cradle 2 Cradle Islands.
Within 20 years ten islands in the North Sea Region will be self-supporting. C2CI is an ambitious project with 22 partners from The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Great Britain. North Sea islands, a.o. Texel and Ameland will be the showcase for sustainable innovations in the field of water, energy and waste.

• black water (toilet water: faeces and urine)
• solid kitchen waste
• grey water (originating form showers, bath, laundry etc)
• rain water

See picture below.

The black water together with the organic kitchen waste is rich in organic matter and nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P). The organic matter can be converted in biogas and the nitrogen and phosphorus can be recovered. Phosphorus can be recovered as struvite, a fertilizer. Grey water has a high potential for reuse as irrigation water or after treatment it can be reused within the house.

A vacuum toilet, kitchen grinder and recycle shower are installed in the house. In the Netherlands the daily indoor consumption of drinking water is around 120 litres a person. Toilet and shower are responsible for 70% of the water used within households. With the installation of a vacuum toilet and recycle shower a 50% water reduction in the house is expected. Wireless measurement equipment is installed to measure the real reduction in water use. In October 2011 the digester will be installed to produce biogas (methane) from the black water and organic kitchen waste (collected by the grinder). The biogas will then be used to light an outdoor gas lamp.

For more information see: www.wisle.org