The National Association of Heating, Plumbing, and Cooling Contractors commissioned a life cycle comparison of five engineered systems for managing food waste. The five systems examined were: 1) sending food waste through a disposal to a wastewater treatment plant, 2) collecting food waste with municipal solid waste, and sending it to a landfill, 3) collecting food waste with municipal solid waste, and sending it to a community compost facility, 4) collecting food waste and sending it to a central incineration facility, and 5) sending food waste through a disposal to a septic system. The study looked at the required land, total system energy, total system materials, total emissions to the environment, and total system costs for each method. The four-year research project was concluded in January 1998.
Download PDF
