Garburators, waste disposal, etc...

[CSK'sMom]

Do the research hoob, a worm farm can be successfully done under your kitchen sink. Do you actually have any idea about how much clean drinking water is wasted by using a waste disposal and how much energy is wasted by cleaning that water again at the sewage disposal plant? You do realize that the waste removed at the sewage treatment can end up trucked to landfill anyway right? And don't complain when the aging sewage treatment plants can't handle the incresed volume over the years and continually dump untreated waste into the Lakes closing the beaches ok?

[hoob]

Do the research hoob, a worm farm can be successfully done under your kitchen sink. Do you actually have any idea about how much clean drinking water is wasted by using a waste disposal and how much energy is wasted by cleaning that water again at the sewage disposal plant? You do realize that the waste removed at the sewage treatment can end up trucked to landfill anyway right? And don't complain when the aging sewage treatment plants can't handle the incresed volume over the years and continually dump untreated waste into the Lakes closing the beaches ok?

There is no room under my kitchen sink, that is where all my recycling goes.

1) Water is not a sensitive resource in Toronto. Water used to dispose is equivalent to water used to clean, and water used to cook.
2) Worms or otherwise, the stuff has to get disposed of somehow, somewhere, eventually.
3) It can get trucked somewhere for post processing, either to a landfill or for pelletized fertilizer. It's still far better than chucking in straight in the trash.
4) As for sewage treatment handling the volume... That's a non-issue, as personal organic material disposal is less than what goes down the toilet.

Everyone has their own line when it comes down to being an eco-nut. I've drawn mine, and you feel free to tend worms under your sink if you want, but that's your line. I know just how far that line can be drawn, and at some point you just have to avoid what just doesn't make any practical sense; I've lived the life of indoor composting toilets, 24V wind power circuitry, solar water heating, etc, so it's not like I'm willfully ignorant of the options. An in-sink garbage disposal is a valid, logical, and reasonably responsible option for MTU residents, in Toronto at least, without a building green box program.

[hoob]

No recycling either.. you think a rich city in Oilberta can afford curb side recycling?

I was just visiting a friend in far off rural Quebec (rural county has a population of 170 people.) They have curbside recycling, and she lives 3km down a dirt side road in the middle of nowhere.

[hoob]

Do the research hoob, a worm farm can be successfully done under your kitchen sink. Do you actually have any idea about how much clean drinking water is wasted by using a waste disposal and how much energy is wasted by cleaning that water again at the sewage disposal plant? You do realize that the waste removed at the sewage treatment can end up trucked to landfill anyway right? And don't complain when the aging sewage treatment plants can't handle the incresed volume over the years and continually dump untreated waste into the Lakes closing the beaches ok?

Given that line of argument, I wonder what your point of eco-view is on "disposable diapers" vs "washable cloth diapers".

[CSK'sMom]

All 3 of our kids were cloth diapered. Disposables will still be sitting in the land fill whole when the baby that soiled them is dead of old age... Oh, and I use a clothesline too and always have, even in a townhouse.

[batcave]

I'm going to resurrect this thread...

I've just installed an Insinkerator Evolution Compact food waste disposer. It's even more quiet and efficient than I imagined.

I mulled over the benefits and drawbacks for several years. I even waited patiently for the City of Toronto to introduce green bin composting for apartments/condos. They promised it for 2008 when they started the city program.

I think having one of these thing could be less cost to the city because if enough people had them, it would reduce the need to truck waste to landfills or compost centres. Water treatment plants have to filter out solids and suspended articles anyway. There have been studies where cities have rescinded bans on these devices and even give tax breaks to homeowners to use them.

Composting is not feasible in some condos in the city because of the lack of space available to us. I doubt we could add the option to the garbage chute because of the space limitations with the garbage chute and the room where waste is collected.

It's very good for me because 98% of my waste is organic - I generally only eat non-packaged food. Before I would only compost a portion of my waste because of the volume of waste I created because of the effort required to compost. I had to walk 15 minutes to the compost at the community centre and it wasn't always maintained properly.

[mlc2000]

All 3 of our kids were cloth diapered. Disposables will still be sitting in the land fill whole when the baby that soiled them is dead of old age... Oh, and I use a clothesline too and always have, even in a townhouse.

theres a bylaw in my neighborhood that disallows clothes lines.

[CSK'sMom]

theres a bylaw in my neighborhood that disallows clothes lines.

Follow the news on the issue mlc, any current bylaws are supposedly unenforcable and the province is currently floating legislation to completely disallow any ban, any where on clotheslines.

[ramu77]

The reset button + a bone stuck inside the disposal
fixed it with a flick of a screwdriver!

[okaywithme]

I had a garburator in my second home. It was good, did what it was supposed to do but I was always nervous with whether one of my children would try to play with it. I never did get another one in my other homes.