Do you mean a compactor? A disposal is under the sink, grinds up food, isn’t usually seen by anyone - unless the sink cabinet doors are open and someone is crouched down to see it hanging from the bottom of the sink.

I've lived where disposals weren't allowed, but that was back in the early 90s, so there's nothing new about that.

No, not a compactor (had one of those, too, once). The disposal that grinds up food (but not shrimp shells, ask me how I know) and that takes up space under the sink.

Oh...I never thought of or heard of disposals being dated. I thought all (or the majority of) “modern” kitchens had them - I personally would never be without one, but I guess if you live somewhere that you can compost that would be a reason not to have one? But I’d still think I’d want one for bones, meat trimmings, etc that you can’t compost and wouldn’t want stinking up the garbage can in the kitchen if the bag wasn’t tossed immediately because it wasn’t full.

Dated? Why? No other kitchen appliance has become dated, although I only have one friend with a compactor. My mom never liked them and when the last one died she didn’t replace it. One of my friends couldn’t have one due to plumbing issues. I try to not put too much down it, but its so handy for a lot of food stuff, especially science experiments from the back of the fridge.

I'd say no. There are plenty of people who think my lack of a disposal make my kitchen look dated though!

The discussion I saw was about not growing up with a disposal in NYC and only newer ritzier buildings there having them, or conversely people no longer using them because of environmental concerns. So I guess "dated" was just a joke on my part, but it seems like I don't see people listing them in their appliance or sink discussions, and I wondered if they are still "a thing". Maybe they talk about them in the Plumbing forum!

It never occurred to me that a garbage disposal would be considered dated. I lived without one for 12 years in a house built in 1940, and now that I have one I feel like I've entered the 21st century for a change.

Timely question. You might, or might not, be interested in this discussion on HT.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5691001/aoc-discovers-a-garbage-disposal-asks-if-it-s-environmentally-sound#n=20

I try to avoid the political discussions, but since DH is a water quality scientist: yes, they're environmentally unfriendly because it takes a lot more energy to remove waste (from the disposal) from wastewater than it does to just let it rot in the landfill.

(DH spends a lot of time monitoring outflows from wastewater treatments plants and also hearing about how their capacity is pretty much always maxed out - something to think about next time you hear that your municipality plans to hike sewer fees. Hence we have no disposal.)

We compost and still love the disposal. We don’t “put anything” down there but crumbs and bits get into the drain and having a screen to catch thEm is annoying to clean. Nice to just run the disposal once in a while When something gets rinsed off.

Disposals are under the counter /not visible /not part of your decor. They can't be "dated".

Whether they're a good idea is another topic.

catticus, that's where I saw the thread. What I found unusual in it is that disposals weren't in NYC for so long.

Mrs.Pete, I don't know, I see that my plastic Rubbermaid silverware holder in the drawer is dated lol! But I no longer have the orange one from 1980: it's worse, it's almond.

bpath, people don't list them or talk about them in sink/appliance discussions because they are a basic "non-sexy" appliance that hasn't changed much in the last 40 years. You do see discussions about where to cut the hole in the counter for the air switch button, which means there is a disposal.

In my area most plumbing supply places carry just 2 brands and each have a few different models.

I've had one in every house. I use mine to just rinse out the small bits of food that get dropped in the sink during food prep and cleanup. Bigger stuff goes in the trash.

I've never had or wanted a garbage disposal. But I can't see how one would make your kitchen look dated.

Mrs. Pete, I think it is supposed to be a joke, and not literal.

Hmm, yes, I think they are "out." I know in our Maine remodel they were not allowed. When we did our K here we put one in, but TBH i never use it. Never even think about it. I think ever since someone chewed up a sterling silver spoon in my first house, I have sworn them off. I have a little screen over the sink drain that i simply empty in the trash which is just to the left of the sink.

chispa, that's right, I have seen the air-switch discussions. it's never accompanied by the words "garbage disposal" so I never make the connection. I have an old-fashioned DATED wall switch lol.

I dread the one month summer vacation rental with no garbage disposal. My two grandsons are HUGE eaters of cereal and getting them to dip out those last few Cheerios before dumping the leftover milk from the bowl, is a constant challenge. If they don't, the sink stops up, and since it's on a septic tank, that's a big problem.

I'd give up my dishwasher before I'd give up my disposal. I don't put bones and large things down it, but I do put peach peels, soft food from my dinner plate, cereal etc in the disposal.

Anglophilia, don't you have a strainer in your sink drain?

If you're on septic, I would urge you not to get a garbage disposal. On septic, you can use one, but you have to be much more careful about what goes down there. In general, its a good idea (septic or not) to not put down anything with fibers (banana peels, artichokes, etc ) meats, or oils. I happen to think anything that is slow to decompose and stinks is a no-go. Just use common sense. We have one and are on septic, but I rarely use it. A plumber told me once that 99% of plumbers WONT have one since they think they are not a good thing.

Oh gosh no...All of the houses in our development have them, but we all have an aerobic septic system so we yanked it out the very first thing...I have no idea why the builder put them in....

I don't understand why anyone would want this type of an appliance, frankly, but to each his own....

The house I grew up in, in which my parents lived for over twenty years, had septic and we had a disposal with no problems. The only trouble we ever had with the septic was the result of planting a very fast growing tree too close to the drain field.

We had had one in every house we owned with the exception of our weekend place. We deliberately omitted one from our recent kitchen refresh, and we don't miss it at all.

We added a disposal about ten years ago. I didn't want one but the builder said they're necessary if you use the dishwasher because it cleans out bits of food particles that drain through the pipes.

I never throw anything in there except for crumbs when rinsing a plate. If I have bones and such I put them in a plastic grocery bag and throw them in the trash so they won't smell.

Oakley, I don't think my dishwasher drains through my disposal.

However, inmy first apartment, it did! We found that out the hard way, by not running the disposal often enough. After a few days of not running the disposal, and stuff accumulating there, it clogged and filled up the sink when we ran the dishwasher. It took us several occurrences (because we were stupid) to figure out what was going on.

My folks have septic and a disposal, and like me they just use the disposal for the stray cheerio or the crumbs, everything else gets brushed into the trash. We had to train their caregivers, though, who wanted to put EVERYTHING into the disposal.

I've never seen a dishwasher that drains through the sink disposal. Is there some secondary disposal, Oakley? If so, it's quite silent!!

I don't have one as I am on a septic system. I do "passive capture" via a sink screen, and ditch the stuff.

But no -- they're certainly not dated!

No, not where I live they don't date a kitchen. I have had them, and for a brief period of time been without on occasions. Though I will compost as soon as our veg garden goes in, I can't abide picking and scraping the little pieces of mushy food out of the stopper. And I'm no shrinking violet, it's just one thing of a few that tends to gross me out.

We did not put one in, to the surprise of my designer and GC (who Could Not Remember that we weren't doing one - lol). We had one growing up, and it was a problem when my mom sustained a tbi and permanent brain damage. On at least one occasion, she tried to grind up silverware. I think my dad disconnected it until they redid the kitchen. I never had one in an apartment, and there wasn't one in my house when we bought in 2000. We didn't put one in because . . . my son has brain damage and we were concerned he might do what my mom did. If it weren't for my early childhood experiences, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but having that memory made me think about how my son uses the kitchen and I knew it would be a bad idea. We don't miss it because we haven't had one as adults. I don't think my husband had one growing up either.

I've never been interested in them. They are loud and scary. My friend noticed her 3 carat diamond had fallen out of her ring AFTER she turned the disposal. I like a nice shiny sink with no apparatus. Oh, she didn't have jewelry insurance.

My dishwasher drains through the disposal, and so I have to have one. They are dated only if they are noisy, which mine is, after nine years, but DB does not want to replace it. I almost never use it because if you put the wrong stuff in it, it can cause your pipes to clog. I never pour oil down the drain either. I do put lemon and lime peels through the disposal, and this helps it smell better.

One of the worst things you can put through a disposal is pasta - or so I have heard - and so I have never done that. Most food goes into the trash. I have a friend who works for the City of LA Department of Water, and he is an engineer who designs sewers, etc. He told me that the less you put through the garbage disposal, the better, at least for the sewers.

yayagal, there's an old Dick van Dyke episode about that! Laura is given a family heirloom, an ugly brooch, and it falls into the disposal.

The Curse of the Petrie Family

Yayagal, I lived with my sister one summer, and she had one. One night, I came in very late, and I tiptoed around, trying to not wake anyone up (including the babies). The house was completely dark, and I crept into the kitchen and felt around for a light switch and found - what? The disposal switch instead. Of course. I don't remember if it disturbed anyone else, but it startled me so much! lol.

As a life long New Yorker I have never had a GD. It is such a simple thing to empty the screen I keep in the drain after cooking, that I have no need for one. I think GD will be "dated" soon, in the sense that they are not good for the environment. NYC is currently running a public service campaign about "fatburgs", sewer clogs caused by wipes, oil, fat and food being flushed or rinsed down drains. Apparently, it damages sewage systems, and cost a lot of money.

I've never lived anywhere with a disposal as every house I've owned had a septic, so it was never a question, disposals + septic isn't a good combo, now I have learned they aren't a good match with sewers either, interesting. We compost and what can't be composted (or fed to the dogs) goes to the landfill.

NYC disallowed disposals for many years because it increased the cost of waste water treatment. They are allowed now.

I compost so I dont have that much food waste in my trash. We have our own compost heap and curbside compost for what I dont want to put in my heap. Curbside Compost is called Garbage to Green, "a Rind is a terrible thing to waste". I think that is so cute.

Here is what the will and won't take:

COMPOSTABLE ITEMS
If it Grows, it Goes!
All food scraps! This includes:
Vegetables, fruit, citrus, breadCooked & raw foodPits, peels, shells, bones & seedsMeat, dairy & breadCoffee grounds, filters and tea bags (without the staple)Grass clippings, leaves, brush (thinner than a pencil), and other inert organic debris not treated with pesticidesClean, non-glossy paperNapkins, food-soiled paper products, wax paper, muffin linersHair & laundry lintCooking oil, fat & grease (collect cooking oil in a separate container with a lid and place it next to your bucket on garbage day. We'll bring it to Maine Standard Biofuels for recycling into fuel & soap!)

NON-COMPOSTABLE ITEMS
Plastics and StyrofoamPaper coated with plastic or foilChemicals or pesticidesMetalsGlassPet Waste and DiapersAny inorganic materialPlastic wrap, twist ties, stickers, staples, tin foil, condiment packets & rubber bandsBrush or sticks (thicker than a pencil)

We have both septic and a disposal. I don’t use it very often, but every once in a while it comes in handy. Honestly though, I never used ours much when we had city services either.

I’m very curious where the advice not to have a disposal with septic comes from. I had one in my first home, but when we built in 1994 builder and plumber insisted no disposal with septic. I know it’s all what you’re used to, but boy did I miss my disposal for 23 years. When we remodeled, I thought to get advice from my septic guy who said no problem. There are disposals specially designed for septic with enzymatic cartridges, but I was told they were an unnecessary gimmick. Ours is used lightly (scraped plates, etc). My only problem has been with a husband who “disposed” of a spoon the first week. Someone — maybe even chispa? — told me about the disposal genie; my second disposal and marriage remain intact.

Artemis, I think the disposal is a bit low under the sink because I can't see it or the water running from the dw. I can sometimes hear a gurgle when the dw drains, but not often. It could be the way he piped it all in.

Lisa you are correct...there is no problem with a disposal and septic. My husband is a plumber, plumbing contractor and building inspector. Our house has septic and garbage disposal...it is 30 years old. My parents house is nearly 50 years old - no problem with disposal and septic. What on Earth do some of you think goes down a disposal? It is for crumbs, rinsing of dishes, etc...definitely not for meat or compost able veggie scraps...geez common sense needs to be employed...

Thanks, Daisy. When my parents remodeled their home back in 1980(ish) they were told they could not legally put in a GD, since they were on septic. While this may have been location-specific (Connecticut) I've always remembered this and thus did not put one in my current build, also on septic. But I've also gotten used to dealing with this over the years. I have two levels of passive grody trap controls (in addition to the visual).

Oh, when my parents did have a GD... yep, your lonely little hand-after-dishwasher-person (me) inadvertently let a sterling silver spoon or fork fall down there... um. The aftermath here was not one I'd like to repeat... but this doesn't mean one shouldn't have a garbage disposal. Agreed.

What on Earth do some of you think goes down a disposal? It is for crumbs, rinsing of dishes, etc...definitely not for meat or compost able veggie scraps...geez common sense needs to be employed...

Parents used their original for all of the above, but in small bits.

Okay, nothing to do with septic, or common sense... I knew a guy back in the late 80s who decided to flush the residue from a watermelon down his toilet... Needless to say... the results were something that I was glad NOT to be around to observe...

Re the DW... no grinding sounds, so I don't think it gets taken care of that way here..?

definitely not for meat or compost able veggie scraps

Uh, yes, it absolutely is for those things. Not all of us live where we can compost and many of us live where there isn't even recycling, you know. If you live in a high-rise apartment there's not much you can do except dispose of that stuff through the disposal or in the trash itself, and ideas about which is preferable keep switching back and forth.

As far as disposal in the DW, the last place I lived had that and it was great. The owner's manual basically said, "take the bones off the plates before putting them in." But that sort of DW is becoming less common now, I think.

I have always had one. I do know when I go to someone’s house that doesn’t have one, which is very rare-I don’t like not having one.

The garbage disposal is on of the top 10
Things I am looking forward to in our new home. I haven’t had one in an apartment in 11 years and I do miss it. They aren’t common in the nyc area unless you are in new construction and even some of the new construction builds don’t install them.

Garbage disposals, for me, are good for uneaten cereal and milk, goulash, spaghetti, leftover roast and potatoes and soups, just to name a few things off the top of my head that I throw down the disposal. In other words, to get rid of the goopy foods. Otherwise, wouldn't your trash smell?

olliesmom, I wrap garbage and freeze until it’s trash day.

I compost vegetable matter, and never put leftovers or foods down the disposal; I use it only for small things that happen to slip into the sink. My in-laws are incorrigible when it comes to using theirs, however, including tossing in steak and chicken bones. Even after they had to call in an emergency plumber on New Year's Eve--they are unrepentant!

After having been educated by a plumber on what not to put down the GD, I never put rice or pastas down them. Plumber put a camera into the sewer line and showed me...I had roots from a tree grow into a crack in an old sewer line and powdered laundry and dishwasher detergents along with pasta had hardened in the line where it was slowed by the roots. The residue gets rock solid over time.

We have a septic pump to get to street level, I can pretty much tell you everything not to put down there from trial and error. I rarely use my garbage disposal. Science experiments go in the trash, fruits and veggies I usually throw into the woods after going through the fridge. I swear my weekly half eaten bags of carrots thrown in the woods are what keep the deer from eating my flowers.

I've grown up having a GD in my life, so it's something I consider ubiquitous. However, I've been thinking of giving it up when we reno the kitchen. Primarily because our drain is a mess-it goes out to our back yard where years ago there was a septic tank. Later, when the house was hooked in to City sewer, instead of turning the drain pipe around so it drained out to the street, they put a U joint and had it go out back then out to the front.

We learned this because every single year, usually around Thanksgiving, I'd have to have the rooter company come out and rooter our drain. Eventually they ran a camera down and found out that was the main cause of our backing up issue. So I rarely use the GD now, except, as some have noted, small bits that rinse off the dishes after being scraped. I also run citrus peels through on occasion, but never anything bigger than a peanut size.

I'll never forget on my 9th birthday I had a sleepover. 14 little girls all camped out in the front room. Typical ghost stories and games had been played before we all fell asleep. Sometime during the night two girls got up to get a glass of water and one accidently turned on the DW switch thinking it was a light switch. A spoon had gotten down into the drain and the noise-the horrible grinding/clanking caused 14 pre-teen girls to shriek bloody murder. I remember my dad running into the front room in his underwear to see what was going on and my mom rushing to the kitchen to turn off the disposal. After that I wasn't allowed to have sleep overs.