Disposers Can Play Important Role in Solving Food Waste Management Challenge

As the world’s largest manufacturer of food waste disposers, InSinkErator wants to make everyone understand the positive role food waste disposers play in environmentally responsible waste management.

David MacNair, VP of Marketing at InSinkErator talks to MHN about the benefits of disposers in general and the company’s Evolution Series disposers, which aims to make the disposer  quieter and easier to use.

MHN: Disposers have been around for a while. How is the InSinkErator Evolution Series different from the other disposers?

MacNair: The Evolution Series makes it possible to discard all types of food scraps (including banana peels, celery etc.,) without concern for noise or clogs. Everyone has a list of items that they believe should not be thrown down the disposer. This new disposer addresses those concerns. It literally possible to eliminate all food scraps from landfills through proper use of a new generation disposer. The second concern surrounding disposers is the noise they generate. This new generation disposer uses a new technology that caps the noise from going out. It dampens the noise and vibration.

MHN: What is the importance of disposers in greening a home?

MacNair: Food waste makes up 20 percent of all home waste. It can either be put in landfills or trucked away to a compost site. Landfills are the worst of the options as they generate high amounts of methane gas. Disposing of food waste via composting is a great solution, but composting isn’t practical for everyone. Plus composting facilities face environmental challenges, including the use of trucks to collect and transport putrescible material and the odors associated with it.

All these options are bad for the environment because they generate methane gas, which is obviously very bad. In case of the disposer, the ground up waste is sent to waste water treatment plants. While this method generates methane gas as well, the gas is captured and put to use as renewable energy. For example, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District estimates it saves about $2 million dollars each year by generating its own renewable power, thus saving residents money and lessening the demand on electrical producers.

MHN: Any disadvantages to this system?

MacNair: The only downside is that the disposer uses water and electricity. However, it is quite a small amount. It uses about 1 percent of a home’s water consumption and 3-4 kilowatt hours a year. That is just about 30-60 seconds per day.

MHN: What are the benefits to the user as well as a management company?

MacNair: For the consumer, it helps keeps the kitchen clean and for the management, it is the most economical way to manage waste. The New York Housing Authority for example is adding garbage disposers to units undergoing renovations. An added benefit to the management company is that it helps reduce the amount of garbage going down the chutes.