Residential Plumbing & Repairs: Fun Facts About Garbage Disposals

When it comes to residential plumbing & repairs, how much do you know about that garbage disposal attached to your kitchen sink? Here are some interesting facts about these devices that you have probably never heard before.

• Garbage disposals were invented in 1927 by John W. Hammes, who created the “In-Sink-Erator” (a play on the word “incinerator”) to grind up chunks that were clogging the sink drain in his home. He spent 10 years improving the device & eventually took it to market.
• Garbage disposals have a history of being somewhat controversial. Did you know they were outlawed in New York until 1997, when their ban was lifted? And Raleigh, North Carolina banned them for a short month in 2008 in hopes of having fewer problems with clogged sewer lines. However, they discovered that fats & greases being poured down the drains were more of the culprit than food scraps, so the ban was lifted.
• Garbage disposals are a benefit to landfills because food scraps make up 10-20% of a household’s waste. If these food scraps end up in a landfill that uses waste-to-energy plants, burning the food scraps requires energy instead of producing energy because of food’s high water content. Because food is 70% water, it makes more sense to treat the food with water waste instead of solid waste.

If you’d like to have a garbage disposal installed and replaced, or need your current disposal serviced, please contact your local expert on residential plumbing & repairs.