Are Garbage Disposals Green?

This is a question I briefly pondered during our kitchen remodel. Now that we (Jen) are starting to get into gardening, we will likely get a composting bin, which we'll do once this record-setting winter finally passes over Chicago. But gutting our kitchen gave us the opportunity to get a garbage disposal too.

During the deliberations, I noticed an overstock In-Sink-Erator came up on eBay a few months ago, I splurged for it (and was later told by the plumber that I got a good deal on it). Now that it is installed, a few times I have flipped the switch and wondered how it impacted the enviornment.

Well one of my news feeds recently carried an article by the WSJ about this topic. At first, I was surprised to hear that some countries (UK, Japan, Australia) actually had legislation prohibiting the installation of garbage disposals. I was even more surprised that many are now repealing those laws and encouraging people to install these in their homes to help deal with the issues they're running into with solid waste management.

There is also an good overview of the environmental pros and cons of disposals:

Pluses: "Carting organic waste to landfills contributes to several problems. It requires using garbage trucks, which spew pollutants. In addition, mixing food waste into garbage can make it more difficult for sanitation workers to sort out recyclables, and more energy is required to incinerate the water-laden refuse. And most importantly, landfills themselves produce a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas."

Minuses: "Sending food waste through a kitchen garbage disposal, however, creates a different set of headaches. It increases water usage slightly, according to several studies. Engineers worry that as the waste passes through municipal sewer systems to treatment plants, the ground-up food sometimes contributes to clogging. And after treating the waste-water, plants are left with more sludge, which is costly to dispose of."

Most interesting to me was that the USGBC is considering awarding LEED points to homes with a garbage disposal. There is even some really advanced Swedish engineering that separates solids from water after the disposal has done its duty, and then takes the solid waste and uses it to create methane, effectively turning waste into energy!

As for the typical US home, most antiquated existing waste water treatment centers couldn't handle that volume of mixed food/water and would be overwhelmed. This is actually a concern expressed by other residents of our old condo building. People feared the sewer lines weren't large enough to accommodate everyone having a disposal.

Anyway, here at Humphrey House, we'll likely use a compost bin for most of the year and save the disposal for small pieces of food. And for when it is too darn cold to go out to a compost bin in winter!
Articles:
http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20080227-brat.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/trash-talking-the-garbage-disposal.php

Dad was Right

All of our dads were right, actually, as we discovered last weekend.


KENNY
Kenny had come up with the new kitchen layout right away, even though Jen and I (mostly me) tossed, turned, twisted and tried to come up with a different idea for 2 1/2 years. When we had a professional designer lend his opinion, guess what? It was almost identical to Kenny's plan!

JOHN
Then last weekend, John came and routed our plumbing for our kitchen sink. When the Today Show filmed us removing cabinets, we learned two interesting things.

1. The kit sink was originally in the corner of our kitchen (on the bathroom wall, which meant only one plumbing wall).
2. When some PO last remodeled the kitchen (circa 1952 from newspapers we found in the wall), they moved the sink. And ran the water supply lines on TOP of our floors in that little space under the cabinets.

As John likes to say (with a touch of sarcasm), "They don't make 'em like they used to!"

We ended up gutting out the last of the old galvanized steel pipes in the house so now there is nothing but copper (and water pressure everywhere!) By the the time John left it was very late, but we managed to squeeze in hooking up the gas line for our new dryer in our second floor laundry area as a final project. Which was useful, because the next day, we went to Jay's dad's house for an early Thanksgiving. Not only did we leave with full stomachs, but also a bed full of new laundry appliances.

BOB
The new house Bob & Kathee moved into had a nice Fisher & Paykel washer and dryer in it. However, it was all EcoSmart and computerized, made weird noises, blinked a lot and paused in the middle of washing a load. It was too frustrating for them, so they bought new appliances and offered us these temperamental appliances if we wanted them.

Since we both earn a living via a computer, a computer-controlled laundry machine didn't really seem to daunting to either of us. At least, until we hooked them up and washed a load.

Actually the first load went flawlessly. I was busy running up and down the stairs trying to make sure that all the insulation I packed into the floor last year was doing a good job of muffling the sounds of suds from the dining room below. It was amazing! I couldn't hear a thing! Then came the bedroom test (a regular 2x4 wall with insulation is between the laundry and our bedroom). Almost nothing! Fantastic! I was very excited and pleased. And the washer and dryer were Energy Star rated too!

But when Jen did the next load, when the machine gave up halfway through the wash and started a monotonous beeping noise and flashed all kinds of lights. "Aha," I thought. "This is what Dad was talking about. I'm sure it's something simple. Let's consult the manual" (which I had printed earlier).

Things quickly devolved. Hot and cold supply lines not supplying water? clearly not the case as one wash went through without any problems. Could the angle of the drain hose really prevent the machine from properly executing a rinse cycle? Seems outlandish, but who knows.

At this point, we have done approximately 7 loads of laundry, and sadly, I think we have only had just the first instance that went off without any interruptions. So it seems like it's time to consult the Search Engines to see who else is running into these problems.

Nevertheless, I think it's definitely safe to say our Dads were all right. It's been a humbling month so far.