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Research: USA
Trials have been completed in Chicago, Philadelphia, Tacoma, Milwaukee, and Boston assessing whether more food waste can be captured if sent via the sewers to waste water treatment plants to recover clean water and biogas. Between 2012 and 2015 trials across the five cities gauged the impact of food waste disposers on the residual waste. Each of the cities shared the goals of organics diversion from the solid waste stream and increasing resource recovery at their wastewater treatment plant. On average food waste disposer use reduced the amount of discarded food waste by over 30%. At that rate, after a 3 year period of disposer use, nearly a full year’s worth of food waste would be kept out of landfills. In New York, measures to encourage the use of in-sink organic material grinders in appropriately targeted multi-family districts’ was a key recommendation of a December 2014 policy forum and white paper*examining New York City’s organic waste management practices. Diverting significant quantities of organic waste from remote landfills is an important component of PlaNYC and the city’s commitment to reduce CO2 emissions. *Source: The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) |