Attitudes of university staff on the consumption of vegetables harvested from soil irrigated with greywater in Pretoria, South Africa

The study assessed the attitudes of the 213 university staff on the suitability of greywater for irrigation of crops through questionnaires. Even though 68.1% of the participants did not have vegetable gardens at home, 83.4% of them bought vegetables once a week. Most of the participants (74.0%) stated that they would eat vegetables harvested from soil irrigated with greywater, with 77.0% of them being women in the age range of 46–65 years old. Reasons for unwillingness to use greywater for irrigation of crops were that it could contain oil (35.5%), germs (25.8%), faecal matter (16.1%) or chemicals (22.6%). Kitchen greywater was selected as the most unsafe greywater for irrigation by 39.1% of the participants. There was a general acceptance of greywater use and that it should be encouraged by 74.3% of the participants. Education on the importance and safety of greywater for agricultural purposes should be offered to communities.