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Garbage disposers: Green buying guide 7/09
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| Making green choices |
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How to choose |
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Assessing your needs
Is a garbage disposer appropriate in your area? If your water waste goes to a municipal sewer system, contact your local sewer authority to ask about its disposer policy. Some require a permit to use a disposer, while others discourage them because of limited water and sewer capacity. You can find your local agency online or in the government pages of your phone book (often listed under public works or water department).
Is your plumbing up to the task? Don’t install a garbage disposer if your plumbing clogs or if backups are frequent, since a disposer’s added waste can make both more likely.
Is your septic tank big enough? If you use a septic tank and want to install a garbage disposer, your municipality may require an upgrade. Consult your local building inspector or environmental health official. As an alternative, you may need to empty the existing tank more frequently.
Is water consumption a concern? It takes roughly 2 gallons of water per minute for most sinks, or about 700 gallons per year to flush food waste through a disposer. Besides potentially increasing your water bill, a disposer’s added demand can be a concern in drought areas
Would composting be a better alternative? Composting your non-animal-based food waste not only reduces the amount of material headed for the sewer or the landfill but can also provide excellent fertilizer for your garden or flowerbeds.
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Making the right choice
Pick the disposer with the best performance. We’ve found that in terms of environmental impact, the differences among models aren’t very significant. Performance, however, is another story.
Consumer Reports periodically rates disposers, including information about their speed and ease of use. For the latest advice and ratings, read Make short work of garbage (available to subscribers).
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Getting the most value
Grind food waste only. And avoid greasy or fatty foods, which tend to clog sewer systems as well as home plumbing.
Run it with cold water. Cold water will use less energy than heated water and reduce your energy bills. Run water briefly after the grinding is done to flush out small scraps.
Clear your disposer regularly if it’s connected to a dishwasher. Before using a disposer-connected dishwasher, clear the disposer so the dishwasher can drain properly.
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Why it matters
Environmental Costs
Waste from garbage disposers can overburden old municipal sewage systems. Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Garbage disposers can double the volume of nonliquid material that goes down the drain, displacing food waste from land to water. Many sewer systems around the country are more than 100 years old and operating beyond their design capacity--resulting in more than 40,000 overflows of sewage treatment systems each year. When these old systems fail, they can release raw sewage containing high levels of nitrogen, chemical contaminants, and microbial pathogens into local waterways--causing harm to ecosystems, animals and humans.
Food waste also increases septic tank maintenance. If you have a septic system, using a garbage disposer can mean emptying it twice as often. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, half of all septic systems are at least 30 years old. As many as 20 percent or more are malfunctioning in some way, and 10 percent or more back up onto the ground surface or into homes each year. Failing septic systems are the third most common cause of ground water contamination.
Waste from garbage disposers can clog your drain or worse. Old plumbing systems can easily be overburdened. You’ll want to check on the condition and capacity of your pipes before deciding to use a disposer.
A disposer uses more water. While garbage disposers are not going to have a large impact on your household’s electricity use, they do require running water to move the waste down the drain—about 700 gallons per year.
Environmental Benefits
Disposers can reduce the amount of solid waste that ends up in landfills and incinerators. A few municipalities have actually encouraged consumers to install garbage disposers, especially in places where water is plentiful, the sewage treatment infrastructure has been expanded and modernized, and landfill space is scarce.
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| Specific issues |
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What government & industry are doing
In most regions of the country, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state and municipal governments are working to reduce the flow of untreated sewage into the environment and to improve the capacity and effectiveness of the sewage treatment infrastructure. The EPA estimates that the cost to repair aging infrastructure (pipes and treatment systems) will reach nearly $400 billion over the next 20 years. This will undoubtedly mean higher sewer rates for homeowners and/or taxpayers–something consumers should consider when they think about installing new water-consuming and waste-generating appliances such as garbage disposers. There is no federally sponsored EnergyGuide or Energy Star program for garbage disposers.
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What you can do |
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| Recycling & disposal
With any garbage disposer, the environmental impact of the machine itself is minimal (in terms of water and electricity use), compared with the impact of the waste that moves through it. That’s also true of any material waste when the time comes for you to dispose of your disposer. What’s more, when used properly, these appliances generally have a fairly long life expectancy. Bear in mind, though, that composting your food waste and using it to provide nutrients for the soil can be a better alternative than using a disposer in the first place.
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