We used to have one and had it taken out. It was disgusting when you looked at what was in the pipes. Our DW supposedly has a grinder or a disposal or something, so I don't worry about putting dishes in there with little bits on them (we scrape them off but don't rinse first). We do have kids and I am happy not to worry about them sticking their fingers or the forks down the disposal. :) We don't have nearly as many sink clogs as we used to, now that we've had it taken out. It did grind the food but what was in the pipes was a thick tarry nasty goo -- the plumber said it was food residue (no, we didn't put meat down the disposal, just veg peelings and crumbs). In any case, I am just as happy dealing with food bits without a disposal and won't have another one.

I'll link a previous thread about garbage disposals.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garbage Disposal or not?

I am on a septic system and have always had a garbage disposal. We have been here for 13 years.

I did have our system pumped 2 years ago, but only because we were having a huge Thanksgivings/family reunion with 36 people for 3 days. I wanted to make sure we didn't have septic problems with that many people here.

We had a disposal in our kitchen for the past 25 years. We are on a septic tank (2000 gallon) with a good drain field. We clean our tank out about every 5--6 years. We have never had a problem. We do not put most of our wet garbage down the disposal-- just occasional stuff from peeling veggies in a hurry or stuff that has stayed in the frig too long and we don't want it attracting bears by sitting in our garbage can for a week waiting for rash pickup.

We have passed the three month point in a major remodel/addition to our kitchen (driving me and better half crazy since our garage has become our kitchen!). We are putting in two fireclay sinks and are trying to decide whether to go with one or two disposals-- I am leaning toward one because we hate to lose the space. Our disposals are going to be 3/4 HP insinkerators because that is what our plumber carried. We have had a 1 HP kitchen aid for 25 years with no problems-- a little noisy tho'.

Disposals do not pose a problem to a well-cared for septic system unless you are running a restaurant out of your home. People get into septic problems by running too mch water through them.

Will

The only time I've ever lived without a disposal was one apt for a year, and during our kitchen reno. I hated having to empty the yucky strainer. I love our Insinkerator, but then I've never had a problem with any other brand of garbage disposal.

I will say that our BFF, who installed our disposal, grumbled the whole time about how garbage disposals are the devil's sphincter. He's a plumber and says that they leave gunk in pipes and cause all sorts of problems. DH's grandfather is a retired plumber and says pretty much the same.

Believe it or not garbage disposals were never on my radar - never had one growing up, married 20 yrs, two kids and never had one. Small bits of stuff that escape down the drain cause little problem. I just make sure to use the sink strainer if there is liquid stuff like cereal or soup that I don't want to pour directly into the compost. Scooping out the cereal or noddles after is very little trouble to help out our planet. We compost everything.

A good friend is a plumber and he HATES them. He says the majority of people do not use them correctly and the gunky goo that builds up in the pipes is gross, not to mention the impact on our wastewater.

It wasn't until I started reading on GW that I realized how many people have a disposal. I think many would be surprised how easy it is to live without one. It's one less thing to buy, one less thing under your sink, one less reason to call the plumber and one more green solution.

I bought one because having never had one, I was excited to try it. Then, I found out it is against code here. I did not realize there was an environmental impact. Now, I feel too guilty to do it after the fact. I survived this many years without one, so it is not a huge deal. It also saved on installation and leaves more room under the sink. Oh well. Now, I just need to sell it sometime (when I figure out where I put it).... I don't feel guilty selling it because whoever buys it was going to buy one anyway. At least, they will not be adding to the bottom line of a disposal company if they take it off my hands ;)

I've lived without a disposal, and it's only easy if you enjoy smelly little squid tentacle bits lovingly wrapped around your fingers as you try to scoop out the food by-products from your strainer. I don't use them to throw away entire hams and chickens--just to get rid of the small bits that inevitably collect in a sink. They also work as pumps when the water is slow going down, so I can't see how I'd manage without them.

Had one in the old house (sewers); went 15 years without one in this house (septic.) Just put one in with the remodel (even with septic.) Very very happy to have it back!! SQ

I can't stand the soggy cheerios, noodle bits, and squid tentacles. We use our garbage disposal sparingly (just for the little bits left that end up in the sink), but I wouldn't want to give it up. I really like my compost pile, too, and wouldn't want to give that up, either.

Because our house has a septic, I did not want one.

Our builder ordered one and charged us for it, so we installed it in the clean-up sink. It does plug in to an outlet in the sink cabinet. This is where our on/off switch is...... a choice we made to deter use of the disposal.

In every previous home/apartment/etc. I have lived in in WA/OR states, we had a garbage disposal (none were on septics.) In this home, I have learned to compost as much as possible. We don't put anything down the garbage disposal on purpose. I think I run the disposal once every week or so for those bits that fell down accidentally...

It is certainly convenient to use a disposal, but it is also easy to live without one. :)

I have a GW. We are on a sewer. I compost fruit and veg peels, egg shells, veg that got too old in frig and started liquifying,coffee grounds, etc, but not squid tentacles or other meats or oily things (those can attract vermin, per the Cooperative Extension). I do use the disposal pretty much on a daily basis.

I had a InSinkerator Badger, which I disliked, but in the remodel I'm getting the IS Evolution with a fiber optic switch from Waste King.

What do you mean, fishing out the squid guts with your fingers? You just lift out the basket strainer and whack it upside down on the edge of the trash can. OK, sure, sometimes there is a spaghetti noodle that gets stuck. I think the disposal goo is much worse than touching wet pasta from time to time (besides, that's what paper towels are for), but I guess we all have different "ick" points. :)

They sort of gross me out. Had one in the original kitchen and dh removed it so I'd have more room under the sink. No desire to have another. We compost, so would have very little that could even be ground up.

These garbage disposal or not threads often devolve into self-righteous versus holier-than-thou discussions so I appreciate y'all being nice and non-judgmental this time around!

I personally prefer to have a disposal. I also compost. The two are certainly compatible!

My neighborhood was built in the 1950s and some of the plumbing is still original (small drain pipes from kitchen). Local plumbers do seem to feel that the use of garbage disposals is a bit much for these pipes, but the drains are pretty much shot by now anyway and ready for modern replacements. If you have old plumbing that is difficult and expensive to access, you might want to consider getting a plumber's opinion before installing a GD.

I've always had one, even growing up. We will have one at both sinks in the new kitchen. I compost everything--eggs, meat, veggies, fruit, and the few paper napkins and towels we use (trying to cut way back on those for green reasons). I have two kids and there are always inevitable bits of gunk stuck on bowls and plates. Having that stuff stuck in a basket strainer grosses me out. I love being able to wash those bits down the GD.

AFAIK, mine have always been Insinkerators.

Didn't put one in in the reno last summer. Have never ever had one in my life. Never used one, either.

Thanks for the nice words about my sweet doggie! We really, really miss him, all the time, but no one as much as my husband who lost his first pet ever and absolute best friend :)

As for the disposal, I never "put" things in it, but I do use it for the food debris that ends up in the sink after washing little hands and faces and little bowls, cups and plates that have all sorts of food goo (and squid guts!)

I love composting my fruits and veggie remnants, but I don't compost any dairy or meats, and that's a big chunk of what my kids eat, so I think the disposal/compost/little kids combo is a win/win/win for me!

I think if you have one, they become a convenience that is hard to live without, but if you don't, you can count it as a good place to save money.

I grew up with disposals and have lived in a bunch of places with them, and the longer I lived with them the less I liked them. I'm now delighted to be without.

Even if you're squeamish about gunk, consider that a disposal just moves the problem six inches lower and out of sight, and to a place that is much harder to keep clean.

Then there is one more machine to break down, and you have to worry about spoons falling into it.

As northcarolina points out, a simple mesh strainer is all you need to keep the drain clear. Lift it out, quick tap, and into the compost or garbage go your scraps.

I don't have one because I don't want all my spoons to have little ground up edges. I had one at a previous house and, though I tried to be careful, I found that most of my spoons got mangled. The PO didn't have a disposal in the kitchen and I grew to like it that way.

Never had one, had one here for 18 months before the remodel and although it was nice to have, didn't put one back in and don't miss it. I do have a high yuck tolerance BTW.

We have one and I never use it. They will be against code in our municipality with 3 years and a lot of new construction don't put them in.

I think it's one of those personal preference things. I'm used to living without one, and even when I've had one in the various houses I've lived in I rarely used it. I don't plan to put one in on my upcoming reno and I do have kids - 2 messy toddlers and an equally messy DH (good thing he's cute!).

I figure it's one less thing for them to loose a finger in. One house we had my DH stuck his hand in the disposal to clean out a clog...GOOFHEAD! If I can't keep a grown man's hands out of the disposal ... I also figure it's one less thing to go wrong in my sink that requires someone to fix (DH and I are not DIYers). I don't find it cumbersome to scrape my plates into the garbage/compost or to clean out the drain strainer. My messy toddlers create MUCH ickier messes for me to clean up!

I bought one with every intention of installing it, but the sink I bought won't accommodate it. Even though it's a large single-bowl sink, it only has a bar-sink size drain hole, not the 3 1/2" required for the disposal. Anyway, it's driving me CRAZY to not have the disposal! Even though I dutifully scrape plates and bowls and pans into the garbage before washing, there is inevitably stuff that is too stuck-on. I soak those for a while before washing them, and all that gunk ends up in the strainer, clogging it after only a couple of dishes. Maybe it wouldn't be as big a deal with the larger sized strainer, but if I had the larger drain hole I'd have the garbage disposal attached :)

As far as the effect it has on wastewater treatment, I've read conflicting points of view. Some jurisdictions encourage disposals while others discourage them. It all depends on the processing facilities. On the one hand, smaller particles will break down faster and cause less trouble overall. On the other hand, bigger pieces of food are easier to filter out but can cause problems if they get through. Asking somebody in the appropriate municipal department would be the easiest way of figuring out which category your city falls into.

We are on septic and have one...one that's designed for septic systems.

I had them in the various apartments I lived in and then my townhouse...and liked them all.

When we built our house in 1995, our county did not allow GDs for septic, so we went without one for almost 13 years...and I missed it the entire time.

When we remodeled in 2007/2008, our county had changed their stand and they now allow them as long as they're designed for septic systems. I am very glad we have one again!!

We also don't put a lot down it all the time, but we do in spurts (I do, for example, put egg shells and potato skins down it, but not celery and other "stringy" items nor do we scrape dishes into the GD.) We pump our septic tank every 2 or 3 years and have had no problems.

Here is a link that might be useful: InSinkErator Evolution Septic Assist 3/4 HP Household Food Waste Disposer

I've had them in some homes, not in others. Some on septic systems...some on city sewers. We've never had a problem with one. That said, we're in the process of renovating what will be our retirement home and it will not have a garbage disposal. It is one of the "extras" that we just don't value enough to include in our plans. Of course, it is just DH and myself, it might be different with a family.

We are also on septic and will be putting a disposal in our sink. The sink we tore out, from the previous owners, also had a disposal. No problems as far as we know with the septic.

There are some disposals specially made to be safer with septic. Of course, in our old house, which was on sewer and had a disposal, we didn't throw anything significant in there, just whatever small bits I couldn't scoop out of the sink by hand and a slice of lemon every now and then to keep things smelling fresh.

Nope, we don't have one and in our new house aren't going to get one.

We have septic, but that's not why we don't have one. Relatives have them, they are noisy, break down,seem like a waste of water, & don't take basic things like grapefruit peels, lemon peels, and banana peels- so if you are going to have to take out the trash with the stinky peels anyway - what's the point?

Another thing to consider, in addition to your house plumbing, is your city plumbing. Ours is ancient (supposedly they are finally going to start replacing it---woot!---though that's because they and the other cities near us got sued by the EPA...yeesh) and is a combined system where, when it rains, the overflow goes into the lake near where we live, where it can cause all sorts of issues if there's a lot of organic matter in it. It also periodically backs up into people's homes if connection at the street is old. So, while they don't ban GDs, their use for anything with oil/fat/high nutrient content is definitely discouraged (usually via trying-to-be-cute mailings from the water utility that are hoping to get you to scrape all of your plates and pots before putting them into the sink). So we don't have one, largely because there's not much we could put into it. BUT---we also have municipal food waste composting, which makes it far easier. I take a paper towel and wipe down greasy pans or plates and then stick the towel into the food waste bin and it's done. I also haven't had one since I was a kid, so I'm not used to using one. Instead, we use the space under the sink for a pullout trash/recycling bin that there would not otherwise have been space for, so it was a good choice for our particular household.

On a side note, I also bought the stupidly expensive strainer that goes with our sink instead of just using our old mesh strainer---got a lot of grief from my husband on that one at the time, but it had glowing reviews. It is wonderful, and much, MUCH better than our old strainer. Not sure if it's the size of the holes or what, but it's not particularly tedious to clean out, and it seems to catch everything pretty well. I don't dread that task the way I used to (our old one had to be scrubbed to get the last bits out).

Haven't had one for over 30 years - lived in California for 3 of our 34 years & didn't like it. For some reason, they spook me. Besides, we're on a septic so I can't have one.

We have a garbage disposal, and if I put in a clean-up sink, that will have one too. We're on sewers. I just think they make prep and clean-up easier.

I never had a GD before but installed one in our new kitchen. While I don't throw things like chicken bones into it, although the manual says you can, it receives almost everything else.
I agree with flwrs_n_co. It makes prep & clean up a whole lot easier.

artemis -- yes, yes: who *knew* that not all sink strainers are created equal? I got suckered into a snazoidal sink strainer basket too and it was me myself, not dh who was ragging on me for the waste. But I love it. I had no idea that the technology of sink strainers had evolved to such a high degree. Learn something every day...

That said, I don't have a disposal or insinkerator (I gather there is a difference but I'm not going to go back through the thread to figure out what it is; while it may be possible to learn something new every day, some things you can go to your grave cheerily without ever disentangling - this would be one such tidbit).

Anyway, no disposal and *yow* - I don't think I've ever encountered so much grief for any decision ever. If only I had a penny for every person who looked at me balefully and declared I would be sorrry. You *HAVE* to have a disposal, oh you must, it's code, everyone has a disposal, you'll never be able to sell your house, the sky will fall down, you'll be divorced in a year .... on and on. Goodness. How can so many people have an opinion about grinding up my food bitlets?

We, too, compost everything and I can't for the life of me see the need to apply electricity to the problem. Except, I agree with Marcolo was it?, who noted that the pump-boost is a nice feature. Still, not worth losing the space and money and energy-waste over, IMHO.

Clearly, this is a rather personal issue in which reasonable people can reasonably disagree. I remember a time in my life when I declared, frequently and loudly, that I believed just about the only appliance in a kitchen I could not live without was a disposal. Really, I'm fairly certain I actually said that once. What is it about these things that engenders such certainty?

Well, I can say with certitude now, that I am happy to have defied one and all and not installed one of those things anywhere. I still get grief about it and the inspector hasn't really weighed in. If it turns out to be true that I *need* a disposal for inspection I will be majorly miffed. But I doubt this will come to pass.

So. Didn't install one, don't have one, had to assert myself repeatedly and don't regret any of it. That was the short answer....

We have always had one. Every house we can. Love it!

I find it interesting that so many of you are saying you have to have one to meet code. Like I said I don't know a sole around here (NB, Canada) who has EVER had one. Infact I found it so odd that they were nowhere to be seen that I called the city to ensure it wasn't against code here to have one. It isn't, but the person who answered the phone had to get back to me with an answer becasue she didn't even know what a garbage disposal was! WHen I asked her she said "You mean like they had on that Dinosours show?"

We have had one for thirteen years, and we're on a septic. We get our tank pumped out every three years or so to make sure it never fills up. The only bad thing about garbage disposals is that on the Badgers, they tend to eventually leak - the seal on the bottom fails. That's happened to us twice, and we are now actually on our... sheesh I think it's our fourth garbage disposal in thirteen years. I'm trying to remember, and I really think my husband installed two more after the original, and then the plumbers just installed the new one last month during our remodel. Anyway, I paid for a very good one this time, so it better not leak!

My daughter keeps asking me to compost, but I am not sure if I want to. We have an acre and I don't want to walk to the back, where our vegetable garden it, just to throw away some scraps.

I don't like the idea of using the strainer to catch the bits of food, because then every single time I do that (it would be about three or four times a day, or more), I'd have to thoroughly wash my hands. Good grief, to prepare a typical dinner I already wash my hands three to five times - life moves fast around here, and emptying a strainer is one more thing that would slow me down.

I actually don't quite understand the concept that it's bad for the environment, unless if you guys mean using a GS as opposed to a compost heap. If you're just going to throw the bits of food into the garbage though, I see no difference. If it goes into a landfill, then it's just about the same place where my septic guy dumps his truck, right? I dunno. Can someone educate me?

No disposal here, have never had one. I don't mind pulling the occasional bit of stuff out of the strainer and putting it in the compost.

It's interesting though, how differently people must use their sinks, since some end up with a lot of yucky stuff in the strainer, and others don't.

"Can you comment on a brand or HP? Is 1/2 HP enough for my purpose?"

The small 1/2 HP units are the bottom of the barrel and will not last all that long (maybe 4 years). Avoid the 'Badger' line at HD.

the 1 HP stainless Kitchen Aid one my wife just had me install is the quietest one I have heard.

Get at least 3/4 HP with a stainless steel chamber.
The larger units also have much better sound insulation.

"To me it was a stinky dirty thing."

All you need to do is clean it once in a while.
Run some harder items like cherry or olive pits and a squirt of liquid soap with hot water running.
Ice cubes are another good way to clean the grinding chamber.

If it smelled you did not clean it.

"I don't have one because I don't want all my spoons to have little ground up edges."

I have had GDs for 30+ years and cannot recall the last utensil that went down.

Adrienne -- that's an interesting question as to how the environment is affected by GD, compost, garbage.

As I understand it, and this probably varies between municipalities, and whether you're in a municipality at all of course, but water going through a drain pipe winds up in a sewer reclamation area of some sort where the water is cleaned via a variety of processes. These processes would be, some of them though not all of them, energetic. That is, if you use chemicals to neutralize dirty water, it will have taken energy to produce and corral those chemicals. (There are more energetic processes than just chemicals too).

This would be the fate of stuff ground up in the GD I think.

If instead you just throw your food scraps in the trash, it would wind up in a solid waste facility and buried. Anaerobic, buried trash doesn't really decompose so that would amount to pollution in the ground for a long time. Like really long; dunno the time scale but I would guess thousands of years before decomposition? Someone please pipe up with a correction.

So while food dumped into the garbage might not take as much energy to reclaim as food ground into the water, it will remain problematic to the earth for a very long time in a way that water-waste won't.

And then there's compost. We've been in this house nearly 20 years. DH pounded together some scraps of plywood into a tall 1-foot sqaure rectangle when we moved in. We've tossed our food scraps in there ever since. And as a vegetable-loving, CSA-utilizing cook, I generate a lot of scrap. DH sometimes grabs some of the compost back for a garden, but we are not big gardeners. There's also been a worm bin going for a lot of years, but it doesn't consume the volume of the default backyard compost. That also accepts monumental amounts of green trash, though not all of it (we're in socal so 365d growing season).

That 1-foot-square rectangle has never been more than half full. All that stuff from all those years just goes away. poof. gone. And we do almost nothing with that compost pile the way you're supposed to, like turning it, etc. We simply toss and ignore. And it goes away. No energy beyond the short walk to it. It doesn't smell though there are flies. Locate it in a corner you don't frequent and it may not matter to you. (And this problem can be mitigated with attention; we just don't happen to apply any).

I can't even begin to estimate the volume of scraps I've tossed over the years that would remain as approximately the same volume had it gone to the dump. The issue would be hefty were it water waste as well. I don't know what septic companies do with their sludge, whether clean or shovel under like solid waste. It's kinda gross to think about. There's nothing gross about these scraps, they're just: gone. It's even magic of course since what remains in its place is sweet, earthy-smelling dirt.

Here's the thing. Depending on where you live and your climate, you might not be traipsing to the compost heap 3x/day. If you have a tight fitting bucket you could get away with a trip every few days, even. I find scraps don't generally smell in less than 2-3 days. I'm guessing that statement is grossing you out -- there's a learning curve for sure. But my point is - just start small and don't worry about complexity. Just toss the stuff in a corner and be done with it. You can ramp up to complicated and distant systems later if you wish. But at root (so to speak) there's really nothing to know, nothing to do. Just return the food scraps to the earth; it'll take it from there. ;)

I think the point about different municipalities varying is a good one. Ours has problems with GDs (though not banned here) for two reasons, both of which are specific to our system---first, we just have ridiculously old sewers, which is a problem in many older cities. Grease, fat, and food particles that go down the drain block older pipes because of the combination of smaller capacity and corrosion (many are lead, etc.---just not in good shape at 80-100 years old). So that's not exactly an environmental problem per se, but is a problem with using the drains for food waste because when the city pipes clog, it's unpleasant all around.

The second issue we have, which a number of Northern California cities have, is that we have combined sewers, meaning our wastewater and our stormwater meet in the sewer system and share the same pipes to go to the wastewater treatment facility. They don't build systems that way any more (because it's a terrible idea!) but there are lots of old ones still in use in cities where it's cost-prohibitive to dig it all up to replace it. When there's a lot of rain, the system is overpowered and the extra water spills into the waterways here (San Francisco Bay and our city lake, which connects to the Bay) instead of going to the water treatment plant first. In some places, it goes to the water treatment plant but gets a quick-and-dirty treatment that removes the worst of the toxins but doesn't get everything so that it can keep moving along. In both of those cases, having food waste or grease in the water that gets into the waterways disrupts the aquatic ecosystems (adding organic matter, etc.), which is how the cities here wound up getting sued by the EPA. (Stormwater runoff is a huge issue too since that can have contaminants of all sorts from the streets, so it's certainly not just a problem with GDs---it's across the board.) You probably know if you have that particular environmental issue where you live, though---they plaster the storm drains with signs that say "drains to Bay!" and they send out mailings with free gadgets to scrape your plates with, etc. This is also part of how the cities around here got funding for municipal composting, too---they pick up the food waste weekly and you can put just about everything in there to encourage people to keep it out of the drains and garbage. (Solid waste is another issue all together, since we're out of landfill capacity here, too!)

We have a backyard compost in addition to the food waste bin, though, and like aliris, we don't really tend it at all (though it would probably break down faster if we did). We just pile stuff in there and over time it breaks down---we only compost veg, fruits, coffee, eggs, and garden debris, but we've never had an issue with critters. It's pretty low maintenance---scraps go into a sealed tupperware container in the kitchen and then go out every 3-4 days or so; rarely gets smelly (but I take it out sooner if it does). I also know people who keep the scraps bin in the freezer and take it out even less frequently.

Interesting about the compost bin. I could handle putting banana peels and coffee grounds in a large coffee container for a few days. In fact, I could make it a chore for my girls to do! :oD I'm surprised that it doesn't smell bad though, because our garbage in the garage smells horribly, especially when it's hot, after about four or five days. I'll do some more reading about compost heaps, because flies would lay their eggs on decomposing material like that, and I HATE flies. But there's probably a solution to that.

We live in an area with no sewer system, so we have a well and a septic field.

And I agree with brickeyee about the Badger garbage disposals - they are just junk.

Thank you, aliris and artemis.

BTW, I'm not sure if you can still get these now that I think Target owns the Smith & Hawken name, but we have big plastic compost bins from Smith & Hawken (which actually came from our city through a discount program) that do a great job of protecting the compost pile so it's not out in the open but is still getting air. They're very low-tech---literally just a piece that goes on the bottom of the pile, then three stacked side pieces and a lid that can all be taken apart and hosed off---but they sit in the back corner of our yard and are very unobtrusive, and have yet to be bothered by anyone (including our overly-inquisitive dog, who is well aware that food scraps go in, but still leaves the bins be once the lids are closed). We haven't had fly issues, though we do occasionally get ants---when that happens, we shift the balance to a little more "brown" (leaves, yard waste, plus coffee grounds) and a little less "green" (food waste) for a week or two and it generally tapers off. (I also occasionally spray the edge of the bins with limonene oil, which we also use in our garden on occasion for ants.) However, we also live in a very moderate climate, so it rarely gets above 80 or below 40---I'm sure this helps with bugs and smells, too.

We had one in our old kitchen **and** we compost year round. It made cleaning the sink easier, because there's some post-meal gunk we don't want to compost and would rather not throw in the trash to get stinky. In our new kitchen we'll have a cleanup sink near the dishwasher and a prep sink on the peninsula. We'll stick with a disposal near the cleanup sink but do without it under the peninsula, which will give us an 18" width for compost and recycling bins. A 12" pull-out just for trash will be to the left of the cleanup sink.

RE: stinky compost

My compost bin doesn't get stinky.... and I probably only take it out once a week. (Yes, I am soooooo gross! ;))

You just compost what was listed above... veggies, fruits, egg shells, coffee grounds. They aren't especially stinky items, compared to meat/cheese (which you do NOT compost).... Meat & cheese, in a warm garage trashcan will stink in a day. I can't say the same about veggies.

Fruit waste, though, wants to leave the kitchen in a hurry. We've been enjoying a late-summer spate of mangoes and melons, and so have the fruit flies. One advantage of a worm bin is that the worms rapidly consume soft stuff like melon rinds, and most gunk. Plus they eat cardboard - what's not to love?

i had one in the old house but not having one in the new build. we're on septic and while there are units available, i didn't find it to be something i couldn't live without. it seemed there was more getting stuck in there to make it worth the effort.

We have one and have always had on in our homes. We just lived for 7 months in a house that had the GD in the "30" side of the 70/30 sink, as in the side of the sink they never used! It was crazy and I was always looking at it over there wishing it was in the 70 side of the sink.

IN our new house, the GD is mounted in our silgranit offset sink. Its an insinkerator evolution series and the outlet is below the sink. The air switch mounted in my granite is how we turn it off and on. I've had the switch in a bank of light switches before but I always thought it was more dangerous that way because it could easily be mistaken for a light if someone was at the sink washing and someone was at the light switch. No one is hitting the air switch by accident because they would have to get around the person at the sink to do so. HTH.

We have one and will always have one. As a side note I got the Waste King 9980 1hp at SamsClub online for $130 including shipping. This is a lifetime REPLACEMENT product with great reviews. This specific disposal's flange fits better on the silgranit sink vs the 8000 (also a 1hp waste king product, with an EZ flange)

This is the first house I've lived in that has a GD. I don't really care for it, I hate having to be careful not to lose anything down there (or making sure the kids don't toss silverware in the sink bowl that has the GD), it looks icky and encourages DH to toss stuff down there instead of scraping off the plates. Banging a strainer against the trash can side and then rinsing it out is much less gross to me, than the slimy rubber mouth of my GD which needs to be periodically scrubbed. So when we remodel, I'm buying a good quality drain strainer and skipping the GD - which will also help me gain space for the undersink trash pullout.

I wouldn't live without one. I prefer a single bowl, so one drain, never use a strainer(ick!), just spray all the little bits right down the drain. Only time it clogged was one thanksgiving when DH jammed all the potato peels down at once...now we know to do them little by little. Raised 3 kids with this setup with maybe that many "errant" utensils caught in the disposal in 27 years. I don't have fine silver, so never a big deal....

This question has been raised several times in the last 24 months. I have no GD. No one I know has one or wants one.