Why Should You Buy a Garbage Disposal?

Garbage disposals are just plain handy when it comes to handling, well, garbage. This includes food scraps, smelly leftovers you forgot in the back of the fridge, or even flowers kept a little past their prime. Sure, a good kitchen trash can serves a similar function just effective, but people are crazy about their disposals for other reasons.

For starters, there’s the convenience factor. Prepping and cooking often produces a lot of food discards. And each time you have to reach for the trash can, it interferes with the flow of the cooking process. If you think about it, dropping your waste down the sink is actually much more intuitive—not to mention, cleaner.

Furthermore, each food scrap you stick down the disposal is one less item you’re throwing in the trash. And with a smaller amount of waste to stink up or overflow the bin, you’ll find yourself taking out the trash a lot less frequently. In-sink garbage disposals may not eliminate the dreaded chore altogether, but it’s a step in the right direction. Plus, you may find that your bins are less appealing to pets and neighborhood critters in search of a snack. It’s another perk of putting your most edible garbage down the disposal.

Are Garbage Disposals Good for the Environment?

The environmental impact of garbage disposal has long been the subject of debate. Over the years, researchers have struggled to provide a definitive answer as to whether a grinder or a landfill is a more eco-friendly option. However, recent research has brought forth evidence in favor of garbage disposal.

According to a study about food waste published on Oregon.gov, food treatment with in-sink grinding (ISG) ranks above landfill, depositing in all accounts when considering climate impact, energy concerns, and effects on soil productivity. In fact, ISG is considered to have great potential for renewable energy production.

Another study has suggested that home food waste deposited in municipal sewage systems via garbage disposals could be a very potent resource for biogas harvest. By applying biogas recovery technology to these treatment systems, organic waste by-products from anaerobic digestion could be controlled and exploited.