GLADESVILLE, AUSTRALIA — Car owners here have been forbidden from hosing their vehicles since last year, and even carwash owners have been heavily restricted in how much water they can use, but Star Café Wash owner Martin Dowling isn’t worried, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

That’s because Dowling has started recycling all of the water used at his carwash and is no longer mandated by the government, the Herald said. Dowling told the newspaper in an interview that he believes the government should spend more time developing a rating program.

For example, “This is a five-star carwash because it recycles 100 percent water, this is a two-star car wash because it doesn’t recycle anything but it uses a water [pressure] valve and this is zero-star, it shouldn’t be used, because it’s no better than washing your car at home,” Dowling said.

The Australian Car Wash Association, which has developed a voluntary ratings system along the above lines, encourages carwash operators to recycle water. But Mr Dowling argues the regime should be strengthened. “You end up with two tiers in the carwash industry: the ones doing the right thing and doing it properly, and other operators who are paying lip service,” he said in the article. “They use the high-pressure, low volume hoses but they don’t go to the full extent of recycling. The water just gets dumped in the sewer and tipped out Bondi way.”