The Hidden Superhero in Your Kitchen

The Hidden Superhero in Your Kitchen There’s little question that food waste has become a massive global issue—we waste as much as one-third of the food produced worldwide each year. And the foods that we send to landfills produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas shown to have a global warming potential 21 times that of carbon dioxide. Talk about a one-two environmental punch. But for the average person, the question of how to solve such a big problem feels out of reach. Of course, we could get more disciplined about eating leftovers, but food waste –onion peels, apple cores, fish bones—is an inevitable part of consuming food. Enter the most unexpected of kitchen superheroes—the garbage disposal. This mighty kitchen food waste fighter turns the phrase “down the drain” on its head and potentially offers significant sustainability cred. Emerson’s InSinkErator® garbage disposals are able to efficiently break down even the toughest foods—corn cobs, orange and banana peels—into tiny pieces. From here, the food waste is sent via your home’s wastewater plumbing to treatment facilities equipped to handle the small particles. At capable treatment plants, that food waste is even repurposed as energy. WORLD-CHANGING TECHNOLOGY InSinkErator is not just the world’s largest manufacturer of garbage disposals: We invented them in 1927. Using InSinkErator garbage disposals helps keep food waste out of landfills, potentially reducing methane gases and leachate, an acidic liquid residue that can seep into and contaminate ground water. Many people have realized the benefit of InSinkErator: There are more InSinkErator garbage disposals in homes around the world than all other brands combined. “Food waste may feel like a big issue to tackle, but every family that chooses to keep their food waste out of landfills can make a difference,” said Chad Severson, president of Emerson’s InSinkErator. “We’re grateful that so many families are committed to doing their part to help the environment. And we’re even more grateful that we can do our part too, by continuing to put our InSinkErator disposals to work across the globe.” YOU CAN GRIND THAT? Garbage disposals have long been a sustainable option for families, but InSinkErator advances in recent years have made them an even better option. Those same advances have turned some conventional garbage disposals don’t-grind-that “wisdom” into kitchen urban legends.