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“We live in a flush-and-forget society,” says Aaron Tartakovsky, co-founder and CEO of Epic Cleantec. He wants to change that with the company’s OneWater system, which allows buildings to treat up to 95% of their wastewater for reuses including toilet flushing, irrigation, and laundry. The system—unique in its scope and for being designed for new large-scale residential and commercial developments—also recycles energy from wastewater heat to preheat hot water supplies, and turns strained-out organic matter into soil for landscaping and gardens. With droughts intensifying and cities including San Francisco requiring large new buildings to be built with water recycling systems, Epic Cleantec may have found its moment.

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