# Avoiding the garbage disposal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450 "2014-04-18T22:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/21 "2014-04-19T18:21:58Z")
Or the dog. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/22 "2014-04-19T20:49:40Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Many households now (dare I venture most?) either have a backyard compost heap, bin, chooks or perhaps a worm-farm to consume superfluous foodstuffs. I couldn’t think of anything more ecologically wasteful than a garbage disposal unit to be perfectly honest! I’ve never been to Melbourne, but I can’t imagine most _residences_ (e.g. apartments) have a backyard? > [@Guinastasia](#): > > What’s wrong with an actual trash can with a lid, in the corner or something like that? Don’t you have cats? Or sufficiently large dogs? Mine is under the sink, which is bungie corded shut for that reason. I used to have childproofing but it broke. I keep it “locked” most of the time unless it’s getting frequent use. (j666 said part of that too, but I first interpreted it as “don’t let the dog go down the disposal with the ants”) 😃 Putting some kind of vegetable oil down the disposal too help it is an UL, right? ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/23 "2014-04-19T21:51:36Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I’ve never been to Melbourne, but I can’t imagine most _residences_ (e.g. apartments) have a backyard? Although apartments are becoming more popular (recent stats show that 35-50% of new building approvals are for apartments and/or townhouses) the default housing option for the vast majority is still a detached house in the suburbs on a 1/4 acre block of land. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/24 "2014-04-19T22:33:07Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > They’re bad for septic systems. They’re also harder on city water treatment systems. So we have the conundrum that in many American cities, code requires that you install a disposer, while experts recommend that you not use it. they don’t want food waste in the landfills. install one. don’t use it. make a small compost bucket. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/25 "2014-04-19T23:01:53Z")
I would disagree EXCEPT for grease. Grease will solidify at room temps and clog drains. My father lives on the ground floor of a condo. Someone above him cooks very greasy foods and does not bother to capture the grease. In time, it blocked the drainpipe. One day, he came home to a condo full of water with water stains a few feet up the sheet rock. He had to have someone replace the carpeting and cut out and replace the bad sheet. A total nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/26 "2014-04-19T23:39:23Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > … I first interpreted it as “don’t let the dog go down the disposal with the ants” Of course you did. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/27 "2014-04-19T23:49:24Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I’ve never been to Melbourne, but I can’t imagine most _residences_ (e.g. apartments) have a backyard? > Don’t you have cats? Or sufficiently large dogs? > > Mine is under the sink, which is bungie corded shut for that reason. I used to have childproofing but it broke. I keep it “locked” most of the time unless it’s getting frequent use. > > (j666 said part of that too, but I first interpreted it as “don’t let the dog go down the disposal with the ants”) 😃 > > Putting some kind of vegetable oil down the disposal too help it is an UL, right? I have cats and a smallish dog. I would think a pet though would be more likely to get into a trash bag. Plus what do you do with stuff that can’t go into a garbage disposal? We put our’s in the stairwell going down the basement, but I’m guessing that’s not an option? ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/28 "2014-04-19T23:54:20Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > make a small compost bucket. But many city dwellers won’t have any where to dispose of compost. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/29 "2014-04-20T00:06:54Z")
I have small patios rather than a yard, and use my worm farm to process kitchen waste and junk mail into soil for my houseplants and patio containers. My major issue with garbage disposal in the sink is the increase in household water use it requires. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/30 "2014-04-20T00:10:54Z")
I put food waste into a plastic bag (typically an empty bread bag) which I keep in the freezer until trash day. Then I take it out to the dumpster with the rest of my trash. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/31 "2014-04-20T00:18:43Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > My garbage disposal is such a useful convenience that I would consider having to clear out the drain once every 27 years a small price to pay and worth every penny. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/32 "2014-04-20T01:38:54Z")
I absolutely love mine. No issues in 7+ years. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/33 "2014-04-20T01:48:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > What’s wrong with an actual trash can with a lid, in the corner or something like that? A garbage disposal is not the antithesis to a trash can. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/34 "2014-04-20T02:27:23Z")
I know that – I was responding to his comment about a trash bag near the sink. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/35 "2014-04-20T02:32:22Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > make a small compost bucket. > [@Motorgirl](#): > > But many city dwellers won’t have any where to dispose of compost. flower bed or top dressing lawn. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/36 "2014-04-20T02:50:03Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I know that – I was responding to his comment about a trash bag near the sink. Because of said cat (really just one of them). Unless the lid is bolted on, it’s useless to me. The plastic kind with a snap on lid wouldn’t work, plus it’d get knocked down if close to empty. I’m not sure when naked bags were mentioned. Those would never work. Once the cat chewed a hole into a dog food bag in the time that it took me to go to the car to get more groceries. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/37 "2014-04-20T05:38:00Z")
We dont put much down into it, just when scraping off the plates. And when I do I run water like crazy to flush out the lines. Our sink is used pretty often so it stays pretty wet down there if not an almost constant flow so really its doesnt clog up much. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/38 "2014-04-20T06:01:30Z")
We don’t have pets–not even a cat; no room for a litter box. Tonight when I took care of washing dishes after dinner, I used a spatula and a strainer, and emptied the strainer into the trash can (lined with a plastic bag); when I was finished with the dishes I took the bag out and tossed it into the dumpster. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/39 "2014-04-21T00:05:07Z")
The wastewater treatment facility here in DC is set up to process solids into fertilizer, so the garbage disposal is unquestionably the best choice. Less methane than the landfill, transported by gravity rather than fossil fuels, and economies of scale over composting. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450/40 "2014-04-21T00:58:57Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > flower bed or top dressing lawn. Many city dwellers have no lawn and no flower bed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-garbage-disposal/686450.md?page=1)