Ethically Kate: Are kitchen waste disposal units still a good thing?

Kitchen waste disposal units can cause more problems than they're worth. Photo /Getty.

OPINION

Waste disposal units, also known as “electric pigs”, “gurglers” or “food waste disposers” have been technically banned in some areas around the world.

For environmental reasons, avoiding using a waste disposal unit is important because the food waste flushed down can significantly increase the load on water waste treatment plants.

Sure, the environmental impact of your waste disposal unit will depend on where your waste goes after it leaves your sink (some are connected to septic tank systems or to mains where the food is converted into energy), but most of the time, the environmental impact is not great.

For the majority, using one is like sending your eggshells, mushed lettuce leaves, chicken bones, and coffee grinds on an epic mission to cause major havoc before they end up in the bin.

Maintenance-wise I’ve been told they are a plumber’s arch nemesis and a cleaner’s most dreaded task. They smell, they’re hard to repair, and they can clog up incredibly easily.

When my plumber removed our waste disposal unit and replaced it with a normal drain, he thanked me and told me how happy he would be if they were completely phased out!

For moral reasons, ditching your waste disposal will remind you that shoving your food down a little hole in the sink is a horrible idea that reinforces the toxic mindset of “out of sight, out of mind”. Your food waste is your responsibility. It does not just “go away”.

When people have a magic electric pig to take what they don’t need to eat, they’re more likely to shove things down there that they should have saved to eat later or used creatively to turn into something else. Like freezing bread crusts to make pie toppings or crushing up eggshells for plant pest control.

In case you need another reason to book the removal, the waste you shove down your “waste disposal unit” is not actually waste. The organic matter flushed down these disposal systems is incredibly valuable. It can turn into soil to nourish plants and grow new food.

Why would you throw that away? Even if you’re in an apartment, it’s possible to get your scraps to compost with the help of ShareWaste, the Urban Composter, and apartment-suitable worm farms.