# Getting rid of old food without a garbage disposal?



## Wabi Sabi (Dec 24, 2002)

We just moved and our new house doesn't have a garbage disposal. I've never in my life lived in a house without one.

Obviously, a lot of things can be composted. But, what about the things that have meat in them, fat, dairy, etc. that aren't suitable for composting and aren't good things to give the dogs?

For instance- how do you get rid of old soup? It is too messy for the trash, but would clog up the sink. Ideally, we would use up all of our leftovers or freeze them- but that just doesn't always happen in real life.

Right now I have a huge vat of rotten chili in the back of the fridge because I just don't know what to do with it (our freezer went out and everything in it spoiled!)


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

When I was living in an apartment complex something like that would have gone right into the outdoor dumpster.

Now, I'd probably double plastic bag it and put it in my toter the day before trash day.


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

I would put it into a container that would be thrown away, I guess. I know you can add a garbage disposal to a sink, I would personally start saving up for that!


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

It's actually quite inexpensive to install a garbage disposal. I would look into that.


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## rsps (Nov 20, 2001)

with wet/fat/greasy things we keep an old jar or can in the freezer and keep adding until it's full. then it goes out in the garbage.
This is what my parents did with grease and fat (and we had a garbage disposal) -- grease can clog your pipes.


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## Kerlowyn (Mar 15, 2002)

We have been known to flush old food down the toilet


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## momto l&a (Jul 31, 2002)

I have never lived in a house with garbage disposal till we moved into this house 5 months ago.

Soups can be flushed.

Everything else goes into the garbage, nor problems.

We have dogs and sometimes whatever it is thats old goes to them.

Our garbage disposal isnt all that great but being I haven't used one before I don't know if its just this one or what.

The only thing we use ours for is coffee grounds.


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## wednesday (Apr 26, 2004)

I pour off any liquid I can, then throw the rest in the garbage. I'd probably wait to do it until I had a pretty full bag I would be taking to the outside can anyway.

I never thought of flushing it, that's not a bad idea.


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## CrunchyCici (Mar 13, 2007)

We pour off anything liquid, then throw the rest in the trash.

I'd feel odd wasting water to flush food waste.


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## Sharlla (Jul 14, 2005)

I put old food in a bag in the frige and that gets thrown out with the trash every week. Of course liquid stuff gets flushed.


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## Sharlla (Jul 14, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CrunchyCici* 
We pour off anything liquid, then throw the rest in the trash.

I'd feel odd wasting water to flush food waste.

It's not really a waste if you go pee first LOL Those with disposals would be running water while using it anyway.


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## melissa17s (Aug 3, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kerlowyn* 
We have been known to flush old food down the toilet









This is what we have done in the past, too. We do not eat meat and very little dairy, so it is not so much of an issue, since we started composting.


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wednesday* 
I never thought of flushing it, that's not a bad idea.

I have vivid and very scarring memories of scraping leftover vegetables into the toilet as a child (we didn't have a garbage disposal). Something about that just really icks me out.

Before we lived somewhere with a garbage disposal my DH and I would just wrap the food up in a plastic garbage bag, which probably isn't as environmentally friendly as putting it in the toilet. But again, ick.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

We just throw that stuff in the garbage, and then take the garbage out promptly if it gets too smelly.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

you cant just add one if its a septic system.....
and im sure mine came with a warning not to put coffee grounds in it...
and id put it in a bag and outside, just dump any liquids first though.


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## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
you cant just add one if its a septic system......

Yeah, I was going to add this too - you can only have a garbage disposal if you are on sewarage, if you had a garbage disposal on a septic tank, it can cause all sorts of problems which can lead to having to have the tank pumped or even having to replace parts of it.

We don't have a garbage disposal right now, for the first time since moving out of my parents house and I so miss it. Our sewerage is going in this upcoming year and you better bet I'm hooking a disposal up the second that thing gets connected.

For now, I just drain liquids off into the sink and throw the rest in the trash. Sometimes things get dumped in the sink and get caught in the strainer. I'm sure some stuff goes down the drain, but I'm less worried about it since I know our septic will be retired within a year or two.


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## momto l&a (Jul 31, 2002)

Interesting about the coffee grounds. They are about the only thing that doesn't clog the silly thing up.

Unfortunately we don't have the manuals for the appliances which at times would be nice to have.

We rent this house and I thought it a very bad idea to have a garbage disposal on a septic tank which this house has.


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## Mama Dragon (Dec 5, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CrunchyCici* 
We pour off anything liquid, then throw the rest in the trash.

I'd feel odd wasting water to flush food waste.

I have to say it, isn't that what poo is anyway?







I know what you meant though, I just haaaaaaad to say it









We pour off the liquid and toss the rest as well.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mightymoo* 
Yeah, I was going to add this too - you can only have a garbage disposal if you are on sewarage, if you had a garbage disposal on a septic tank, it can cause all sorts of problems which can lead to having to have the tank pumped or even having to replace parts of it.

yeah, we rented a house for a few months when i was 41wks pregnant, until my son was a few months old- i asked for one, (company) they obliged oither things but not this one, and explained it thoroughly, and showed me a thinggy saying it, and all. hat never even dawned on me before...

Quote:


Originally Posted by *momto l&a* 
Interesting about the coffee grounds. They are about the only thing that doesn't clog the silly thing up.
We rent this house and I thought it a very bad idea to have a garbage disposal on a septic tank which this house has.

[/QUOTE]
yeah, thats really weird!! i have twice forgetting and it clogged it up







the thinggy says it can also dull the grinder thinggy a lot faster..and i quite like it since my doggies not here anymore, its become very useful unfortunately..

and like i said above, yeah..bad idea, that REALLY odd!! is it from a company, or a person? maybe they didnt pay attention? or depending on your rental agreement, figure they dont have to pay for it, so dont care (like i said i dont know what it says, so im just guessing)


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## Rico'sAlice (Mar 19, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Wabi Sabi* 
Obviously, a lot of things can be composted. But, what about the things that have meat in them, fat, dairy, etc. that aren't suitable for composting and aren't good things to give the dogs?

It probably depends on what type of neighborhood you live in, how much land you have, weather patterns, etc. but we compost everything and have never had any problem. I know what the guidelines say, but we have no odor or rodent issues. We compost our pet waste as well.
We do use this compost strictly for ornamentals though.l
We have a separate small pile that we are stricter about for using on food gardens.


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## AlbertaJes (May 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kerlowyn* 
We have been known to flush old food down the toilet

















:


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## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

by the way, flushing solid food waste may cause the same problems if you are on a septic as a garbage disposal. It may not clog the pipes because the pipes are bigger running down, but part of the reason it causes problems for septic tanks is because tanks are designed to be a certain size, based on the amount of waste expected for the size house you have, if you then double the waste by flushing all food waste, you could overflow the capacity of the tank. It really depends on the size tank you have, how many people you have in your house, etc. For example, if you have a 4 bedroom septic system (they rank septics on # of bedrooms) but only you and your husband live in the house, probably not an issue. But if you have a 2 bedroom system and you live in the house with the two of you and six kids, you are already pushing the limits of the system, flushing food waste could easily push it over and cause a backup.

Just something to be aware of! (Of course if you are on sewer its not a problem, flush away!)


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## Wabi Sabi (Dec 24, 2002)

Thanks for all the ideas- I don't know why I didn't think of the toilet!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
you cant just add one if its a septic system.....


Yep- our new garbage disposal-less house is on septic-otherwise I just might have already had one installed, lol.


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

We flush stuff we don't feel can go in the garbage too. We had a garbage disposal for years, but don't have one in this apartment, and I decided I didn't want to add one as we're renovating.

We wash the pets (and dd when she was tiny) in the kitchen sink, and inevitably, someone puts their leg down the drain when being rinsed off at the end. The idea of the drain having sharp blades inside it freaks me out waaaaaay too much. It's just an odd thing I get paranoid about.


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## Rebecca (Dec 4, 2002)

I've never had a garbage disposal and never saw any need for them. This house is on a septic system... don't mess with that. It's not worth it. It's costing me $20,000 to connect to city sewer right now, but a new tank and leachfield system would cost us more (and we sit too low on the water table to do that now anyway).

With soups, I pour off the liquid and put it in the trash (right before trash day) if it has meat in it. If it's veggie, i compost it.

Meat, dairy and greasy stuff always goes in the trash. Don't compost it unless you want wild critters rummaging through it and pooping in it, or if you just happen to like maggots. It's not healthy for a compost pile.


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## srain (Nov 26, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CrunchyCici* 
I'd feel odd wasting water to flush food waste.

Potentially better for the earth than wrapping it in plastic and sending it to a landfill, though- the stuff is likely to break down pretty quickly through sewage treatment, but could take decades (or forever?) in a sanitary landfill.


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## Ambrose (Apr 20, 2004)

We use the toilet if it's a cross between chunky and liquidy. But I don't mind sticking my hand in the sink and pulling out the big pieces to toss into the garbage when dumping something like chili. You could also use a strainer and wash the strainer when you're done.


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## monkey's mom (Jul 25, 2003)

The garbage disposal might be OK to chop up leftover foods, but the drain and waste pipes out of your house aren't designed to accomodate them. The toilet is probably a safer bet than the sink lines, but still...you're taking a pretty big gamble to have to have a plumber come and unclog your drain/pipes--not cheap.

I just dump it in the trash--sometimes in an old can or bread bag.


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