Interview J.A.G. Frijns and H.M. Smith - Europeans say yes to drinking recycled wastewater

“A set of EU-funded surveys has revealed a surprisingly high acceptance of water and nutrient reuse in three European countries. Does the thought of drinking recycled wastewater disgust you? If yes, you are in the minority, according to a new set of European surveys. Conducted as part of the EU-funded NextGen project, the surveys showed that the yuck factor anticipated as a public reaction to wastewater reuse is not as strong as we would have thought.
More than 2 500 citizens in the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom were surveyed to determine their views on recycling wastewater for drinking purposes and on recovering nutrients from wastewater to grow food. The results suggest that the negative public perception usually cited as an obstacle in large-scale water recycling projects may not be such a big impediment after all.”

(Citation: Interview J.A.G. Frijns and H.M. Smith – Europeans say yes to drinking recycled wastewater – www.cordis.europa.eu (2021)22 December)