Food waste disposal units have been popular in the USA for decades; around half of homes there have one. However, only about 6% of UK homes and 3% in Canada have one fitted.

It’s practical

If you have a compost heap in your garden, much of your food scraps can be added to this. However, you shouldn’t add things like meat and fish as it encourages vermin. Unfortunately, not everyone has a garden, and some people may have mobility issues, so rely on their local council to collect their food waste. Where we live – and this is probably the same for most people – food waste is only collected once a week. This means you’ll have smelly, decomposing food hanging around for days on end – not nice!

It can be better for the environment

A massive 20% of household waste is food scraps. Having an Insinkerator installed under your sink means your food waste won’t be going into landfill where it will contribute to the production of methane (a greenhouse gas) which will be released into the atmosphere.
When the food waste  from your disposer gets to the water treatment plant, it will be processed and, if it is a state-of-the-art plant, any biogas and biosolids that are produced will be captured. These bi-products then go on to be utilised as fertiliser and to generate electricity. Surely, this is a better option for the environment.

They’re not as expensive as you may think!

Waste disposal units come in a range of sizes and prices. You can buy models for less than £100. Herefordshire and Worcestershire councils once offered them at subsidised prices (we can’t find information about whether they still offer this grant).

They can be incorporated into a new kitchen design scheme – or easily installed within an existing sink unit.

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