Untitled Document
Why have some cities, including New York, outlawed
kitchen-sink garbage disposals, at least in homes?
Kitchen-sink garbage disposals are not necessarily
earth-friendly in and of themselves, but they do play a valuable role in
grinding up food scraps into small enough bits for local sewer or on-site
septic systems to handle. In the U.S. overall, about half of all homes have
a garbage disposal in the kitchen. New York did outlaw the devices for many
years, thinking that a ban would alleviate the strain on the city’s
aging sewer system, but a study conducted in the mid-’90s found
benefits to lifting the ban, including a likely reduction in rat and
cockroach problems and a reduced flow of solid waste to landfills already
bursting at the seams. In 1997 the Big Apple began allowing the devices
again. But garbage disposals are not the greenest way to
dispose of food waste. According to Mark Jeantheau of the popular eco-Web
site Grinning Planet, conscientious consumers interested in returning
food-based nutrients back to the earth should bypass the garbage disposal
in favor of composting.
“The ground-up waste [in a garbage disposal]
does not go back to nature’s water supply to be gobbled up by fish
and other life forms,” he says. Sewage-treatment and septic systems
remove “any food value the waste might have had.” Indeed, most
modern-day sewer-filtration systems utilize chemicals to rid the outflow of
any life forms, beneficial or otherwise. Plus, grinding food in a garbage
disposal uses a lot of fresh water, which is becoming a more and more
precious commodity. Those on their own septic systems also might want to
minimize their use of the garbage disposal. According to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, regular use of garbage disposals leads to
a “more rapid buildup of scum and sludge layers in the septic tank
and increased risk of clogging in the soil absorption field due to higher
concentrations of suspended solids in the effluent.” Jeantheau adds
that even if a given septic system is designed to handle heavier,
food-based loads, it still might not be worth the risk: “There are
few homeowner nightmares worse than having your septic system go
belly-up.”
Although composting may sound like a messy
proposition, it doesn’t have to be. For starters, those doing the
dishes should make sure to dump any and all food-waste items into a
kitchen-based composting bin with a lid that seals tight. Many
municipalities now make such bins available to interested residents. A mesh
strainer in the hole in the sink can catch smaller food scraps and be
dumped into the composting bin when the dishes are done.
When the kitchen-based compost bin fills up, it can
be dumped into a larger composting bin outside. After four to six months,
you should have some nice compost to add to your garden and jumpstart the
health of your soil. Companies such as The Compost Bin and Clean Air
Gardening offer online sales of a wide variety of quality compost bins of
different shapes and sizes, and provide a wealth of comparative information
for the interested consumer.
For more information:
Grinning Planet, www.grinningplanet.com; The Compost Bin,
www.compost-bin.org; Clean Air Gardening, www.cleanairgardening.com.
Send questions to Earth Talk, care of E/The Environmental Magazine,
P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail earthtalk@emagazine.com.
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2007.
