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April, 1996:

The Netherlands: The Environmental Aspects of Food Waste Disposers

Food waste disposals were relatively unknown in the Netherlands in 1996 when Dr.ir. J. de Koning and Professor ir. J.H.J.M. van der Graaf, two researchers from the Section of Sanitary Engineering at the Delft University of Technology, studied their effects on sewer systems and wastewater treatment. The study concluded that using food waste disposals had a negligible impact on both. Eight years later, Dr.ir. J. de Koning conducted a follow-up study at the request of the Dutch government, specifically to quantify the impact of food waste loading on the Dutch sewage system and the effects of disposal use on the biological wastewater treatment process. The study, which ended in July 2004, reinforced that impacts to the sewer system and wastewater treatment facility were negligible. In addition, de Koning concluded that the use of food waste disposals could improve the current system for the collection of kitchen, garden and food waste, specifically in areas where separate collections had been abandoned because of environmental and/or economical reasons.

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