My wife and I moved into a new house about a week ago and have been working out the kinks ever since. One of the real changes, kitchen-wise, is the lack of an in-sink garbage disposal.
My first reaction was that I’d grow tired of collecting and emptying food scraps in the drain catcher. Nine days later, that’s still true.
I’ve read that garbage disposals are bad for the sewer lines. I’m not sure if that was why the previous owners decided against installing a disposal when they updated the kitchen, but it provides that tiny peace of mind.
But forget city sewer lines, I’ve seen benefits inside the house. Not having a disposal provides a real incentive both to eat all your food and to compost.
For example, I’m motivated to get every last grain of rice out of the pan and then into my mouth because if I don’t, I’ll just be picking it out of the drain guard.
Likewise, I have further incentive to compost because I don’t want to put any food waste in the trash, both because it’s bad for the environment and it’ll smell (in that order, I promise).
In the past, having a garbage disposal provided some margin for error with our smallest scraps. Now, I may as well get all the food into the compost container because if I don’t, they’ll just lodge in the drain catcher. Any tips or thoughts on the matter?
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My daughter and I are cutting back on what we eat for two reasons. 1. Lack of funds 2. I could stand to lose a few pounds.
We also do not have a garbage disposal, though my nephew and I just built a compost bin for kitchen wastes. I hadn’t noticed before just how much food we do waste. Quite a bit has gone into that bin already, so I have decided to just buy less. This will certainly help us to save some money.
The thing to remember is that just because the package says that a serving size is, oh, we’ll say one cup, does not mean that you should be eating one cup. The best thing that we can all do is look to the food pyramid for exactly what our serving sizes should be.
We are cooking less, eating less, and wasting less. And we are spending less.
Shannon, as they say in New Zealand: Good on ya.
For those who’ve never been, the USDA’s My Pyramid site not only offers a personalized guide on what to eat, it helps you plan meals. Cool stuff.
We are on a septic system (no sewer lines), and do not have a disposal because it clogs up the tank. Instead, we have a giant bucket for compost, and an equally giant bucket for the non-compostable gunk that ends up in the sink. You will get used to it — and yes, you’ll definitely be eating every last scrap rather than finding it in the sink drain. Hope the move went smoothly and that you are settling in.
We don’t have a disposal either – we are on septic.
We compost. and for the most part, do not create a lot of waste between that and recycling.
the type of composting you do, depends on where you live – in an apartment or a house, city/country.
the only “animal” think i know of that can go in the compost are egg shells.
bones and the like – aren’t compostable as far as i know. if you know someone with pets, they might like to eat those 🙂
as an aside (or not)
this was just posted on our local newspaper
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/10/6114841-sun.html
FINALLY!!
I’m with Shorty. I’ve been composting for a handful of years now and can’t imagine going back. For someone who relies on quite a bit of fresh produce for one’s diet, all those food scraps not only stay out of my waste basket and out of the landfills, but also become fuel for earthworms and eventually soil to grow new food.
And then, of course, the other plus is our food scraps are not as “out of sight, out of mind” as they used to be when you could just churn them down the drain. Now YOU have to make a decision as to where they will go (trash? tummy? compost? dog bowl?).
Jonathan, no garbage disposal might be an adjustment at first, but in the end its worth the little extra work. Good luck!
Oh, by the way, congrats on all the national media attention! Very exciting for you. Here at my food bank job I check your blog daily 🙂
A kitchen compost bucket is the answer, right next to the sink. We use a bucket with the bio bags, next to it I keep a carnivorous plant (pitcher plant) – it takes care of any ants/flies/gnats that come to investigate the compost bucket.
Smaller serving sizes, you can always go for seconds later.
How about a worm bin, fabulous for composting kitchen scraps. Easy to make your own or there are many great pre-made types out on the market.
We recently moved out of a 100 year old house, so we are quite used to no disposal, no dishwasher etc., and not putting anything down the drain that is not water. Coffee grounds are great for the garden. You can shred papers and receipts to add to your worm bin which means less in the recycle bin.
Composting is wonderful for the soil, and it keeps so much unnecessary waste out of the landfill. 🙂
The carnivorous plant that I have for those wondering is a Sarracenia : http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5520.html
It attracts ants, fruit flies, gnats, regular black flies. I just have mine sitting in a bowl of water on the kitchen windowsill. They are bog plants so you always need to keep water in their dish.