Michael Mobbs - Sustainable Living

It's possible to live a normal life and do your bit for the environment too. Michael Mobbs shows us how, having built the first self-sufficient house in the city of Sydney. For a house that produces its own energy and recycles its own waste, the 100 year-old terrace home in Chippendale seems surprisingly ordinary. Michael tells us more about living off the earth...

Can you tell us about sustainable housing and how this sustainable house works?

There’s no need for a sustainable house to be different from your place. It’s a very ordinary thing. So if you were to turn any of these light switches on, you could do that, but it would just be using the sun for energy. We use the rain for drinking water, cooking and showers and we reuse the sewage water to flush the toilet and wash the clothes.

In 1996, your family came up with an idea that many would consider crazy. You decided to renovate your house so that it produces its own power and water and recycles its sewage. What inspired you to do this?

I noticed that I was whinging and I didn’t like the sound of my own voice, so I decided that when I renovate the kitchen and bathroom here, I’d at least control my own pollution. It was also a childish reaction to being told I couldn’t do something. Engineers were telling me you can’t drink rain water or you can’t manage sewage on a small site. So I did it to show them that you could.

How long did it take you to build your sustainable house?

It took me three months; it was done as part of a renovation of the kitchen and bathroom, so it wasn’t really long ago. It took me four years of research because no one had done it in the city before. I mean, it’s important not to exaggerate what the house does. So for example, for 11 years all my sewage has been kept on site, but a lot of farming people do it all the time. I’m just doing in the city what farmers do in the country.

What was the biggest challenge you faced?

Dealing with other people’s fear. I’ve noticed that there’s a tremendous fear, about doing things that are new. And so engineers would say “no you can’t do that”, but if you listen to their words closely, what they’re really saying is “I can’t do that, and I don’t want you to ask me to do something that I’m afraid of doing”. But what I have here are very simple, very empowering things, which can be copied in India or China or any where in the world.

Was there any opposition to your project?

There was fear in some of the council offices. Mostly people don’t object to rain water tanks and reusing sewage and energy. It’s mainly the health officers and engineers and councils that do. They don’t understand that the country is dying in some significant ways. That the Murray Darling is dying, that the sea is running out of water. For some reason they think, that despite all the evidence, they can keep on running the city the way they have for the last couple of years.

How are your neighbours involved with your project?

Well they come over for barbies, they’re supportive, some of them have copied some parts of the house and they’ve got rain water tanks and solar hot water heaters.

Your sustainable house has many advantages, like being cost efficient, safe and hygienic. What positive impact does it have on the environment?

Well I think the most positive impact is on the people who live here. It’s kind of liberating to live here when it rains, the house comes alive. We make energy as we go through the day with the sun shining. But I’ve had 17 000 people through the house before I stopped the tours, and they come here and they say “gee it’s just an ordinary house” so it’s been very empowering for all sorts of people. They’re just ordinary Australians who want to do something, and the house gives them confidence that they can without changing their lifestyle.

What would you do differently next time?

I would trust my inner voice more. I did get worn down by architects and builders and engineers saying “I think you’re trying to do too much”. It was really about them, not about me. There’s a curious resistance to change in design and construction.

Tests carried out by the University of Technology show that your drinking water (collected rainwater) is cleaner than most households. What’s the secret behind this?

I have a $30 first flush system that takes away the first dirty water off the roof – so the first five or ten litres of dirty water off the roof is diverted to the garden and the water that comes after that goes into the tanks. The water going into the tank is clean. I don’t have to do anything, it’s self-maintaining and very easy to use. Three million Australians drink rain water every day. It’s driven our country for the last two hundred years. It’s the second main source of drinking water after mains water. No one has died drinking rain water and it’s just a myth to think that rain water isn’t safe.

 

Is rain water enough to meet your families’ needs, especially during a drought?

No. About two to three times a year we need to top up with about a thousand litres. So I’m ok for 98% of the time. The house is designed so that for the other 2% of the time, I can top it off with mains water. But if all the houses live like this, the rivers could run free and we could have more fish.

Some people might cringe at the idea of using recycled sewage water as grey water to flush toilets, wash clothes and water the garden. What would you say to them?

I would say that it’s a very good fear to have and it helps keep people safe and healthy, but the fact is that in many parts in Australia, we already reuse sewage in our drinking supplies and the fact is that it’s safe and can be proven to be so.

 

You work as a Sustainability Coach, which involves helping people build their own affordable, sustainable projects. How common is it for people to do this?

I wish I knew the answer, I think that governments should make it a priority to answer that question. My guess is that of the thirty odd thousand houses and units built in Sydney each year, probably a couple hundred are sustainable, but it’s just a guess.

Do you believe it’s possible for every one to make their homes environmentally friendly?

Yes, if I can do it on such a small site, we can all do it. Not just for small house sites, but also for units and businesses. Put it this way, if we can’t, then society will die.

How do you feel after building a Sustainable House?

Recently I’ve discovered that I’m a bit of a failure, because my biggest environmental impact is due to the way that I produce, use and waste food. In ten days for Australians eating three typical meals a day, the water and food exceeds a hundred thousand litres of water. What I’m now starting on is the real part of the journey which is to grow and make most of my food in my land here, or in the street. Now my neighbours and I are replanning the street to grow lemons, limes, mint, garlic, raspberries and as much food as we can.

 

ActNow is all about young people working to make a difference. As a young person, were you passionate about conserving the environment and how did you come to feel this way?

I grew up on a farm and I’ve always been passionate about water and energy, I guess I’ve been lucky to do something about it. The curious thing for me is how all the radical thinking of the sixties failed to get taught at universities and get picked up in our culture.

How would you advise young people about taking action in general and staying motivated to take action?

Well if it doesn’t come from within, it really isn’t empowering. Find it from within.