WASTE MANAGEMENT

	The USS Enterprise, like most large deep-space vehicles, sustains a 
closed ecological system to maintain environmental support. Unlike a 
planetary biosphere, however, a starship must use technological means to 
approximate the complex ecologic processes that sustain life. Among these 
processes aboard the Enterprise are the waste management systems, which 
make optimal reuse of waste products. Without such recycling, the ship 
would be unable to carry sufficient food and water for the extended voyages 
required by many Starfleet missions.

WATER AND SEWAGE RECYCLING

	Each crew member aboard the Enterprise typically generates 
approximately 52 liters of wastewater and sewage per day. This wastewater 
is pumped to treatment and recycling units located in the environmental 
support complexes on Decks 6, 13, and 24. Preliminary treatment is 
accomplished by a series of mechanical filtration processes that remove 
solids and particulates. (The residue is conveyed to the organic waste 
processing system for further treatment and recycling.) Osmotic and 
electrolytic fractioning is then employed to remove dissolved and 
microscopic contaminants for treatment and recycling. The resulting water 
is superheated to 150¡C for biological sterilization before being subjected to 
a final mechanical filtration stage, then it is returned to one of several 
freshwater storage tanks for reuse.

	The various waste sludges recovered from the water recycling 
processes are a valuable resource. The organic waste processing system 
subjects the sludge to a series of sterilizing heat and radiation treatments. 
The waste is then electrolytically reprocessed into an organic particulate 
suspension that serves as the raw material for the food synthesizer systems. 
Remaining byproducts are conveyed to the solid waste processing system 
for matter replication recycling.

SOLID WASTE RECYCLING

	Solid waste such as trash is conveyed to processing units on Decks 
9, 13, and 34 by means of linear induction utility conduits. Incoming solid 
waste is automatically scanned and classified as to type and composition. 
Items that can be recycled with mechanical reprocessing are separated. 
Such items, which constitute approximately 82% of all solid waste, include 
articles of clothing, packaging and other discarded containers, and small 
personal articles. These items are conveyed to a series of dedicated 
processors that first sterilize the waste products, then reduce them to a 
recyclable form (such as the processed fiber packets from which uniforms 
and other garments are fabricated). Hazardous materials (such as toxic, 
biohazard, and radioactive substances) are separated, and the remaining 
unrecoverable material is stored for matter replication recycling.

MATTER REPLICATION RECYCLING

	Material that cannot be directly recycled by mechanical or chemical 
means is stored for matter synthesis recycling. This is accomplished by 
molecular matrix replicators that actually dematerialize the waste materials 
and rematerialize them in the form of desired objects or material stored in 
computer memory. While this process provides an enormous variety of 
useful items, it is very energy intensive and many everyday consumables 
(such as water and clothing) are recycled by less energy intensive 
mechanical or chemical means. Certain types of consumables (such as 
foodstuffs) are routinely recycled using matter replication because this 
results in a considerable savings of stored raw material.

HAZARDOUS WASTE RECYCLING

	Approximately 5% of all liquid and solid wastes are considered to be 
hazardous materials under toxicity, reactivity, biohazard, or radioactivity 
standards. Such materials are separated from other waste materials and are 
immediately diverted to a matter replicator, which converts them to inert 
carbon particles. This material is then stored for matter replication recycling.  
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