Solving the Food Waste Problem
We participated in a study to test the environmental impact of our garbage disposals.
Most people don't think about what happens to their trash, but in the U.S., we generate about four and a half pounds of trash per person, per day. About a quarter of that gets recycled, and about 10% is composted.
Between 2013 and 2015, InSinkErator® installed garbage disposals in 432 homes in five major cities to study the impact on local waste management infrastructure. In each city, most participants reported using the garbage disposal to discard of all or nearly all their food scraps that had previously gone in the trash, for a 30% reduction in trash on average.
Less trash and a cleaner kitchen were what people liked most, but in several of the cities, follow-up surveys found that having a garbage disposal prompted many participants to recycle more.