The world’s garbage flows from many different sources, in various forms, and it only makes sense that getting rid of it requires a variety of approaches. While there is no waste management silver bullet, food waste disposals are both a practical and environmentally responsible way to help manage the more than 31 million tons of solid waste represented by food scraps generated in the US each year.

Trucking food waste to landfills and incinerating it generates emissions. In landfills food scraps decompose quickly, producing methane, a greenhouse gas at least 21 times more potent in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, plus an acidic liquid residue (leachate) that can seep into ground water. Home composting (when done properly) makes sense, but it’s not always practical for all people everywhere – in crowded urban settings, in high-rise buildings, in frigid weather. Using disposals complements composting.

Food waste is mostly water (70%) so it makes sense to grind it up in your disposal and send it to municipal waste water treatment plants. Methane, the biogas created during the processing, can be captured and used to generate renewable power for the plant or municipality. Many modern wastewater treatment plants do that, and the number is growing. The biosolids that result from treatment can be processed and sold as fertilizer and soil conditioner. This in turn, reduces the need for energy intensive fertilizers. And you don’t have to worry about disposals’ water and electricity usage. They average less than 50 cents a year in electricity to operate and account for about one percent or less of a household’s total water consumption.

We invite you to look at the links on the left and read more about why recycling food waste by grinding it up in a disposal is an environmentally responsible and practical part of a holistic waste management strategy.