1985 New York City Study

The New York Department of Public Works generally believes that sewage treatment plants are unable to handle the additional load caused by garbage disposal. Emerson Electric commissioned Konheim and Ketcham to conduct a study analyzing the benefits of lifting the ban on garbage disposal in New York City. The report includes consultations with Dr. John Jeris from Manhattan College and former Research and Development Director William Pressman from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and evaluates the potential impacts on solid waste and wastewater infrastructure. This preliminary study laid the foundation for future work. About ten years later, New York City officials commissioned the writing of their own research and ultimately overturned a ban on garbage disposal in 1997.