[pogodzib]

A typical RO unit produces 4 gal of waste per every 1 gal of pure water, so that means that 20% of the water is pure. The remaining 80% can be used for anything that you have a use for in your house if you decide to collect it. Some people use it for watering plants and shrubs, and others have found ways to use it for their laundry. If you have a septic system, the waste water is going back into the ground so eventually it makes it back to ground water. If you are in a city sewer system, more than likely, the waste water ends up getting dumps into a river somewhere so it does remove the water out of the local water table for the short term. However, long term, the water gets returned through rain so you aren't perminantely removing the water. If I lived in an area ofthe country that the ground and drinking water supply was low and I was on a city sewer system, I'd do everything that I cold to eliminate the waste water. But there isn't a water shortage in my part of the country and I am on a septic system so, as much as I hate to say this, I don't worry about salvaging too much of my waste water.