Garbage Disposals for Septic Systems

Can you have a garbage disposal with a septic tank? Learn why InSinkErator^® garbage disposals are safe for properly maintained septic systems.

As a septic system owner, your primary concern is not doing anything to upset the balance that keeps your system functioning. InSinkErator® garbage disposals work with your septic tank to keep your kitchen, community and environment cleaner.

You've probably been told that using a garbage disposal to get rid of food waste is going to upset that delicate system. The reality is, it won't.

Now, the truth about garbage disposals for septic systems. A garbage disposal grinds food waste to easily flow through a home's plumbing and into a septic tank. Once there, food scraps decompose faster than other waste sent into the tank. Because food scraps are 75% to 90% water, they add very little to the solids that settle at the bottom of the tank. Studies show that septic systems attached to a garbage disposal don't require more frequent pumping than those that aren't.^[1]

_{[1] Study of food waste degradation in a simulated septic tank - Hongjian Lin, Yuchuan Wang, Leif van Lierop, Carlos Zamalloa, Casey Furlong, Michael Keleman, Bo Hu, 2019}