ISSUE 16: Do waste treatment processes cause organic matter and nutrients to disappear ?
RESPONSE: NO. Matter is not destroyed in any waste treatment process, aerobic, anaerobic, or otherwise; it only changes form. The nutrients can change forms, such as organic nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen or to nitrogen gas. Nutrients remain in the solids, the liquid, or release to the air in any treatment system. Any near-term substantial volume reduction of matter is only accomplished by evaporation of water which requires substantial energy.
