Garbage Disposal Timeline

To make it more convenient to get rid of food scraps, Racine, WI architect John W. Hammes (1895-1953) invents the first food waste disposer in his basement workshop. He hopes the invention will help eliminate having to take out the garbage by instead grinding food scraps into fine particles and sending them to the local wastewater treatment plant.

The original U.S. patent for a garbage disposal issued to John Hammes in 1935 includes a grinder connected to an electric motor for grinding food waste into very fine particles which are then discharged through household plumbing to the sewer for transport to the sewage treatment plant.

The garbage disposal goes to market as John Hammes establishes the In-Sink-Erator Manufacturing Company on Clark Street in Racine, WI where 52 disposers are made during the first year of operation.

In 1947 after a swine flu outbreak was linked to garbage being fed to pigs, Jasper, IN mayor Herbert Thyen develops a plan to install disposers in every home. By 1950, 800 out of 1200 homes sign up to obtain one, making Jasper the first city to recognize the value of disposers in improving public health and hygiene.

According to the 1985 American Housing Survey on average approximately 40% of all U.S. households have a disposer.

According to the 2007 American Housing Survey, 50% of U.S. households with "complete kitchens" have a garbage disposal, so for the first time, half of America is able to divert food waste from landfills through their sink.

At Stonehill College for the "100th Anniversary of the Activated Sludge Process," George Tchobanoglous, UC Davis Professor Emeritus and leading wastewater treatment authority, claims wastewater treatment plants are carbon deficient and the use of grinders should be encouraged.

The 5th Edition of Metcalf & Eddy's "Wastewater Engineering" is published stating municipalities that want to create energy at their treatment plants could be encouraging kitchen grinders.

Cities are seeing waste grow by as much as 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic, so to address the growing challenge of garbage and recyclables,  the City of Philadelphia posts "Ten Curb Your Waste Tips" recomending residents use their garbage disposals as one method to reduce the amount of waste sent to the curb.

Whirlpool announced the completion of its acquisition of InSinkErator, the world’s largest manufacturer of garbage disposals for home and commercial use, from Emerson (NYSE: EMR).

Based on the prevailing opinion of the New York Department of Public Works that the wastewater treatment plants could not handle the additional load from disposals, Emerson Electric commissions a study by Konheim and Ketcham to analyze the benefits and trade-offs for removing a ban on disposers in New York City.  The report includes consultation with Dr. John Jeris from Manhattan College and William Pressman, the former Director of Research and Development for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and evaluates potential impacts to both solid waste and the wastewater infrastructure. This initial study lays the foundation for future work. About a decade later, NYC officials will commission their own study, eventually leading to overturning a prohibition of garbage disposals in 1997.

With financial support from Emerson Electric, Dr. P.H. Jones from the University of Toronto consults with officials from Penetanguishene, Ontario (Mayor Bob Sullivan, Councilor Jim Martin, Treasurer Shirley Bellehumeur, and Clerk Administrator Yvon Gagne) and completes "Kitchen Garbage Grinders, the Effect on Sewerage Systems and Refuse Handling."

Based on the goal of Australian governments to reduce landfill waste by 50% and a need for "reasonable scientific evidence," a study from Griffith University by Philip Jones et al evaluates the impacts of garbage disposals and determines they do not present an unmanageable load on the existing treatment facilities.

E&A Consultants complete a comprehensive evaluation of current conditions and alterative management methods of food waste for the King County Department of Metropolitan Services in Washington State and include disposers as one of the alternatives.

A study in the Netherlands by de Koning of disposer impacts on wastewater infrastructure concludes there are negligible impacts. The study finds no evidence to support disposers clog plumbing and sewers, no increase in hydraulic load, negligible increase in organic loading and sludge production, and determines wastewater treatment costs increase only 0.5% at 5% penetration and 1.1% at 10% penetration.

Carol Diggelman’s  landmark PhD study at the University of Wisconsin on "Five Systems for Managing Food Waste" determines food waste disposers are the lowest cost option for municipalities and should be encouraged.

In a follow-up report, Konheim and Ketcham compares disposers to separate waste collection and determines widespread use represents a more reliable and cost-efficient management method than source separated organics collection.

Rosenwinkel and Wendler evaluate the impact of disposers on sewage infrastructure as an alternative to existing systems for collecting organics, and determine they are a good option given the right infratsructure.

German study by Kegebein evaluates disposers for comparison as an alternative or supplement to source separated organics collection.

The European Committee of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (CECED) completes a comprehensive overview of food waste disposals to address a proposed ban and instead provide stakeholders a rationale for endorsing their use as an integrated approach for managing organics to meet requirements of the EU landfill directive.

The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) publishes its first policy position statement on disposers in the Water and Environment Journal asserting they could be useful in managing food waste, that they might be more convenient and environmentally superior, but that questions remain on the cost implications and that further independent research is necessary.

In a paper presented at the 9th Annual European Biosolids Conference, Bob Davis, Adele Graham and Kirstie Hearn share their findings on how disposers can contribute to recycling of organic waste in the UK and conclude they can help EU member states achieve goals set under the landfill directive.

A policy document is written by WRc in the UK that supports the use of disposers to meet EU landfill directive targets by complementing composting schemes.

A field test is conducted in Utanabori Japan under the guidance of the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management and demonstrates the sustainability of food waste disposers.

An environmental impact study for the County Surveyor's Society and Heredfordshire Council and Worchestershire County Council in the UK demonstrates the value of using disposers to manage food waste.

Impact study from Ireland determines the use of disposers could help Ireland achieve EU Landfill Directive targets to reduce landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste. It is possible to introduce disposers alongside current brown bin programs particularly in high density residential areas. The suitability of disposers should be assessed at the local level. A governmental guidance document should be published. Disposers can be a sustainable alternative to landfill. There are instances where disposer use results in benefits to wastewater operations.

A study by Evans in Surahammar Sweden shows installing disposers in 50% of all households over 15 years resulted in no statistically significant changes in wastewater data other than a 46% increase in biogas production, no significant change in hydraulic loading, no increase in sewer blockages, or increased issues with FOG, hydrogen sulfide or corrosion.

Disposers improve waste sorting, reduce garbage, reduce water content of garbage which increases thermal value for incineration, reduce costs for solid waste management, reduce toxic emissions from incineration, improve nutrient removal of wastewater treatment plants, and increase methane production with anaerobic digestion, save energy, reduce discharge of nutrients, and reduce carbon emissions.

CIWEM posts an official policy and position statement on their website stating evidence supports the use of disposals as valid tools for separating kitchen waste and advancing resource recovery.

After three years of work, InSinkErator issues a report completed by PE Americas titled "Life Cycle Assessment of Systems for the Management and Disposal of Food Waste" that evaluates the use of disposers in conjunction with eight types of wastewater treatment plants in comparison to landfilling, incineration and composting. The overall evaluation determines the use of food waste disposers with wastewater treatment always results in lower Global Warming Potential than landfills.

A study to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of five different systems for managing food waste for a community of 100,000 people titled “Sustainable Food Waste Evaluation” is completed by the Water Environment Research Foundation and yields the result that disposers are the lowest cost option.

On behalf of the Local Government Association, Low and Behold in the UK completes "The Potential of Food Waste Disposals Units to Reduce Costs," a comprehensive literature review of studies on the impacts of residential food waste disposers to use as a tool for interested stakeholders and identify barriers and knowledge gaps ahead of a proposed pilot project.

Research conducted by Tongji University concludes disposers cause an increase in sewage Chemical Oxygen Demand of 12%, and Total Suspended Solids of 24%; improve Carbon to Nitrogen ratio for more efficient biologic nutrient removal; impart no negative impacts to sewers; reduce wet waste in the garbage by 10%; increase household waste calorific value by 16%.

With recognition that garbage disposals can help manage solid waste and increase biogas production at wastewater treatment plants, Jonathan Mattson completes a PhD study by at Lulea University in Sweden using closed-circuit video inspection techniques to investigate concrete sewer pipes in residential areas of Surahammar and Smedjebacken to address concerns that long-term use might lead to negative impacts to sewers. While the study acknowledges a statistically significant increase in sediments, the increase is small, minor and observed mainly in pipes with sags and minimal slope.

InSinkErator completes its comprehensive study of five cities titled, "The Food Waste Disposer as a Municipal Tool for Waste Diversion" that documents homeowners typically reduce food waste in the garbage by 30% by using their garbage disposal.

Study of disposers in Lebanon determines implications on solid waste and wastewater management and includes an economic assessment of environmental externalities.

Modeling research using BioWIN software is conducted by George Nakhla on over a hundred wastewater treatment scenarios and published in the Journal of Environmental Management showing food waste improves energy production, reduces nutrients, and lowers overall costs for wastewater treatment plants with anaerobic digestion and biologic nutrient removal.

A study by Franco Cecchi and Cristina Cavinato and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health concludes disposers help communities avoid pollution from transportation, reduce management costs, facilitate energy recovery from anaerobic digestion, and also decrease CO2 emissions.

In November of 2020, the USEPA released “Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2018 Fact Sheet,” a report on the generation and management of municipal solid waste for the USA, as well as the “2018 Wasted Food Report.” Based on the data from these reports, 15% of all residential food waste, or 6% of all food waste, is being sent to wastewater treatment plants through the use of disposers. This means that more food waste is processed in American homes than is composted, with an average of 0.12 pounds of food waste per day processed by people who have a disposer.

Research from a PhD study by Abigail Legge at Sheffield University is published in Water Science & Technology that shows a vast majority of food types are highly unlikely to form persistent deposits in sewer pipes.

After a 21-month study by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection determines negligible impacts, a ban on residential garbage disposals is rescinded in 1997 by local law 1997/071, which amended section 24-518.1 of the NYC Administrative Code.

The European Union passes Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999, regulating waste management of landfills in member states of the EU.

Raleigh, NC prohibits the installation & use of food waste disposers, but reverses decision six weeks later after concluding they are not the source of sewer blockages.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District publicly encourages use of disposers to increase production of renewable energy and Milorganite.

After consulting with multiple stakeholders over a period of three years, including disposer manufacturers and officials from the wastewater treatment utility, the City Council of London, Ontario rules in favor of allowing disposers.

Connecticut passes Public Act 11-217 requiring large generators of food waste to divert organics from landfills by 2014.

Lincoln, NE includes food waste disposers as part of 2040 Solid Waste Plan to divert organic waste.

Vermont passes the Universal Recycling Law Act 148 banning food waste from landfills by 2020.

In a partnership with InSinkErator, Philadelphia launches the “Clean Kitchen, Green Community” program and install disposers in 173 homes in two neighborhoods. Goals of the project were to reduce the generation of solid waste, increase the production of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. After a period of several months, based on a waste characterization before and after installation, overall food waste was reduced by 34%, or 1.4 pounds per household per week.

Province of Quebec acknowledges no negative impact of disposers and adopts rules to allow their continued use.

The Water Environment Federation, the Water Environment Research Foundation, and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies release the "Water Resources Utility of the Future …A Blueprint for Action" as wastewater treatment plants begin the transformation and rebranding as water resource recovery facilities, moving forward with innovative approaches and technologies to produce clean water, renewable energy and fertilizer from things such as food waste.

Los Angeles, CA mentions residential food waste disposers as part of their Solid Waste Integrated Resources Plan to divert food scraps.

York Region, ON repeals bylaw prohibiting food waste disposers after comprehensive evaluation and consultation with stakeholders.

The State of Rhode Island adopts a ban on sending food scraps to landfills for commercial generators of 2 ton or more per week.

The State of Massachusetts proposes a ban on sending food scraps to landfills for commercial generators of 1 ton or more per week.

California passes AB 1826 - legislation requiring jurisdictions to implement organics recycling programs by 2016.

Tacoma, WA includes food waste disposers as part of 2028 Sustainable Materials Management Plan to divert organic waste.

Metro Vancouver completes an evaluation of food waste grinders and concludes they are expected to cause negligible impacts on the WWTP influent and effluent quality and characteristics, as well as a small impact on the collection system due to the negligible predicted H2S generation potential and FOG loading increases in the wastewater stream.

The City of Philadelphia passes ordinance requiring the installation of disposers in all new residential construction.

"A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20%" is published by ReFED, and disposers are suggested as being part of the solution for recycling food waste.

New York "Citizens Budget Commission" publishes "Can We Have Our Cake and Compost it Too?" reporting food waste disposers could reduce costs for NYC by $3.7 million a year.

Pittsburg, PA includes food waste disposers as part of 2030 Roadmap To Zero Waste to divert organic waste.

The State of New York passes the Food Donation and Food Scrap Recycling Act making it the sixth state to adopt regulatory framework for organics diversion from landfills.

Washington Law HB 1114 -2019-20 stipulates that by October 2020, the state must adopt a plan to reduce food waste and divert it from landfills.

With closure of the Kestrel Hawk Landfill expected within a couple years, following efforts of a local grassroots organization to promote a zero waste initiative, the City of Racine adopts a Zero Waste Resolution that includes food waste disposers as part of its effort to increase landfill diversion of organics.

The State of New Jersey passes A2371 requiring large food waste generators of 52 tons or more per year and located within 25 miles of an authorized food waste recycling facility to source separate food waste from other solid waste. Making it the seventh state to adopt regulatory framework for organics diversion from landfills.

HB 264 becomes law, establishing Maryland as the ninth state in the USA mandating diversion of organics from landfills by requiring commercial generators over the 2 tons/week threshold have to either reduce their food waste, divert to food rescue organizations and/or farms for animal feed operations, or compost or anaerobically digest the residuals.