Garbage Disposal Myths

On average, the energy used to run a disposer comes out to a cost of less than $1.00 a year. Several studies have found that water use for a food waste garbage disposal averages out to just over a gallon per person per day. If that sounds like a lot, even the most efficient toilets use more than a gallon of water every time they are flushed.

More than two dozen studies from around the world have concluded that even widespread adoption of food waste disposers doesn't negatively impact local sewer systems. Many cities are worried about the buildup of fats, grease and oils, but with or without a garburator, cooking oil or leftover grease should never be poured down the sink. The majority of food scraps sent down disposers are fruits, vegetables and grains with little or no fat. Even widespread use of disposers results in only a slight increase in the total solid waste in municipal sewers.

Sewer systems are designed to handle waste: debris from street runoff, toilet paper, etc. Widespread adoption of disposers only marginally increases the amount of waste handled by sewer systems. Like human waste, food scraps are made up mostly of water, which means they degrade quicker. Plus, cutting down the amount of waste that needs to be collected saves municipalities money on pickup and garbage disposal costs.

Not true! Garburators grind food scraps into a slurry that can easily be handled by your septic system. Food scraps decompose faster than other waste sent into the tank, and because food scraps are 70% to 90% water, they add very little to the solids that settle at the bottom. Studies show that septic systems attached to a food waste disposer don’t require more frequent pumping than those that aren’t.

Garburators are a year-round solution and can help you deal with some of the challenges and shortcomings of composting. InSinkErator disposers are powerful enough to grind un-compostable meat, bones, dairy and eggs, as well as things like citrus peels, onions and garlic that can deter helpful insects, worms and bacteria from your compost pile. If smelly food waste is attracting unwanted pests, grinding those scraps can also help keep them out of your compost.

Many people believe that scraps such as chicken bones, eggshells and potato skins can’t or shouldn’t be put down a food waste disposer. Although this may be true for many competitor’s products, InSinkErator disposers can handle many items others can’t. InSinkErator regularly takes units off the assembly line and puts them through rigorous testing that includes grinding up a variety of fruit and vegetable scraps as well as frozen beef bones and wooden blocks.
The “I can’t grind that” myth springs from the belief that garburators work like a blender, with spinning blades that can be dulled or clogged by stringy vegetables. Did you know that garburators do not have blades? — they actually have lugs mounted on a spinning plate that continuously forces food waste against a stationary grind ring...so food waste is pulverized into tiny particles.