"A 2020 Consumer Reports survey of 1,000 adults suggests that more than half of households in the U.S. have one of these food waste grinders installed under the sink. However, elsewhere in the world, you would be hard-pressed to find one. Less than 6% of U.K. households have garbage disposals. In Canada, that number is less than 3%. And they are even banned in many European countries. So, why is it that this appliance that is so popular in the U.S. is so absent abroad?"
"A garbage disposal is a small appliance that sits directly below the drain of the sink. Inside the device is an electric grinder that pulverizes food waste. Once the food waste is turned to a near-liquid state, it is flushed from the device with water from the tap, and the waste continues on through the sewer to the water treatment facility."
"It isn't hard to imagine how garbage disposals put additional strain on wastewater management systems. In settings where food scraps are collected in the sink using a strainer, they end up in the garbage bin. In systems where garbage disposals are commonplace, large amounts of food end up in the water. All of this organic material needs to be sorted out of the water before it can be treated, leading to large build-ups of organic sludge."
Invented in 1927, garbage disposals are installed in over half of U.S. households per a 2020 Consumer Reports survey, yet they remain uncommon or banned in many other countries, with under 6% adoption in the U.K. and under 3% in Canada. The device sits below the sink and uses an electric grinder to pulverize food into a near-liquid state that is flushed into the sewer and sent to water treatment. Sending organic food waste into the sewer increases load on wastewater management, requiring removal of organic sludge and risking negative environmental and utility stresses.
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