Humanity will always have a long-standing love affair with food, and not just because we need it to survive. There’s something about going to a restaurant and being surprised with a delicious meal, or cooking something for the first time. Often we spend loads of money and time on food at home, which has led some to call the kitchen the “heart of the house.” But what is the role of a food waste disposer in the environmental context?

Prodrain Plus food waste disposer (FWD) is a device adopted as a tool of convenience in many countries around the globe. Commonplace in India Prodrain Plus food waste disposers work by shredding household or commercial food waste into tiny pieces that wouldn’t clog on their way through a municipal sewer system.

Also known as an in-sink garbage disposal, a Prodrain Plus food waste disposer (FWD) is a convenient way to dispose of food scraps without having to throw them in the trash. Anyone who’s ever had a food waste disposer in their kitchen will also argue that it saves time on clean-up after meals. Today we discuss some of the pros and cons, so feel free to join in the conversation in the comment section below.

Food Waste Disposer

Many homeowners like having a food waste disposer it increases their convenience level while also allowing them to spend less time doing dishes or cleaning the kitchen. Dumping food scraps directly into the sink instead of the garbage can cut down the risk of rotting food and bad smells. Here are some other pros to consider before installing an FWD.

1. Minimum Electricity Requirement

Even though in-sink food waste disposer gives the impression of power-hungry devices, they do not use a lot of it in the context of an entire annual cycle. According to estimates, an additional power consumption of a food waste disposer amounts to 3-4 kWh a year. Studies have compared this figure to determine the difference in alternative methods of treatment of food waste. Results showed food waste disposers feature greater the net benefits than other options in terms of climate change.

2. Water Usage

Critics often cite increased water usage as a concern against the wider adoption of food waste disposers. However, recent estimates suggest the additional water requirement in the use of a disposer is no higher than 1 gallon/capita/day. Water scarce areas should consider this a cause for concern, thus rendering the use of FWDs unfeasible. However, in most places where water is available in sufficient quantities, the additional 1 gallon is a desirable tradeoff given the other benefits.

3. Wastewater Structure

Another argument is that wastewater pipelines may not be suited to carry the additional load from food waste disposer. In reality, FWDs shred waste into granules. As many as 95% of the resulting shreds are smaller than 3 mm, while 40% are smaller than 100 microns. Given that such waste is much smaller than fecal matter, traditional wastewater infrastructure can easily carry it.