How common are the garbage disposal units seen in movies in the USA? Do they go to the general rubbish/organic bin/drain? Are they as dangerous as they appear?

25 comments

  2. Nearly universal in newer construction or extensive kitchen remodels, although I personally don’t find them worth the hassle.

    (Although part of it is that my grandfather frequently abused them to the point of them dying every few months).

  3. They’re not as common as they appear, but are pretty common, you’ll just notice them more because they’re exotic to you.

    Most just go right down the drain, the idea being that you can just wash organic waste down the drain without having to bin it. Some will go to bins that need to be emptied though.

    They’re only dangerous if you’re going out of your way to misuse them.

  5. They’re extremely common, they drain to the sewer pipes, and they’re not dangerous at all because you don’t stick your hands in them.

  6. Only organic waste should go into a garbage disposal. Anything that the sewage system can handle.

    Someone else pointed out a while back that “garbage disposal” is a bit of a misnomer if one isn’t familiar with the technology.

    It’s a “food scrap disposal”, not “garbage” per se.

  7. Garbage disposal units are fairly common, like I think they are > 50% of households. It shreds biodegradable food so it can pass through plumbing without issue.

    I suppose it’s dangerous if you turned it on (by default they are not powered until you press a button or flip a switch) and stuck your hand in it, but it seems a bit contrived to willfully reach your hand down the drain then turn it in.

  9. They’re pretty much ubiquitous in my part of the country.

    They just go to the normal sink drain.

    They aren’t really that dangerous, they pulverize more than chop or cut, and you’d have to be a pretty big moron to shove your hand all the way down into the bottom of the sink drain and then reach over and turn the thing on. They’d probably break a knuckle rather than chop your hand up.

    Also, it’s not like we just dump a half eaten plate of chicken bones down the sink. Essentially, the purpose is just to deal with any small bits of food that comes off the plate while you’re cleaning it up and just breaks it down and turns it to mush so it goes down the drain. We still empty our plates into the trash or compost first.

  10. I’ve never seen an apartment or house without one unless it was really old.

    It essentially goes down a garbage drain.

    They’re only dangerous if you stick your hand in there while its running.. which isn’t something someone should be doing lol

  11. They are common.

    They go to the same drainage as your dish waste. They are as dangerous as your lack of caution around them. They are not supposed to be used for all food waste, it’s for scraps to be shredded and easily go down the drain.

    You too can have a garbage disposal in your home. They aren’t hard to install and you can find them pretty much anywhere, though may be harder to find than other kitchen accessories.

  12. Had one in the last 3 places I lived, and I’d install a new one if it didnt come with the sink. They’re cheap and useful. Theres minimal safety risk as long as you’re not an idiot or a child, you’d really have to try to get injured by it.

    Also worth pointing out that you’re not really supposed to intentionally shove stuff in there to grind up, which seems to be a really common misconception about how they work and what they’re for. It doesnt replace your compost or trash.

  13. In my experience it varies by housing stock, and broadly by how old most housing stock is in a given city/region.

    I currently live in the Los Angeles area, where every place I’ve lived has had a garbage disposal.

    When I lived in NYC, I didn’t know anyone who had one. I don’t think the plumbing and electrical systems of old multi-unit buildings can handle them. The culture of rentals and large apartment buildings with live-in maintenance folks (AKA “supers”) doesn’t lend itself to each unit having a small non-essential appliance that can break if used incorrectly.

    I grew up in Louisiana in a house built in the 70s, in a suburban-style housing development. We had a disposal. My grandparents, who lived out in the country in a house built ~10 years earlier than ours, did not have one. They also had a septic tank vs. city sewage system, which may have been part of it.

    In general, the disposals drain into the main plumbing/sewer system.. It goes the same place that dirty water and poop go, essentially. It breaks food waste down into tiny pieces that can move through the pipes and either breaks down organically (because food waste) or gets filtered out via the water purification process.

    They can break if used improperly, because they’re a machine with moving parts, but they’re not dangerous to use.

  14. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house that didn’t have a garbage disposal.

  15. 1) pretty common, the house I grew up in had one. 2) Drain. I’ve seen (from other countries’ movies) that there’s such a thing as a standalone model, but never seen one here. 3) It was a *Halloween* movie wasn’t it? 🙂

    Seriously, if someone were not safe around it, I wouldn’t let them operate it. The way they’re built now, you’d have to have it on and intentionally stick your hand- Probably up past the wrist, depending how large you are- past a rubber flap meant to keep that from happening. It wouldn’t happen casually, is what I’m saying.

  16. Very common. None of the homes I lived in when I lived in while in Europe had garbage disposals. But they did have the organic rubbish bins to toss food.

    I’ve never seen a organic bin like that in the US. The closest you might get is your brown bin which is normally used for yard waste, such as grass, tree/hedge clippings and so on.

    Food normally either goes into the garbage disposal, or into the regular rubbish bin.

    They are not as dangerous as you see on TV. TV always uses them in some horrific way because it’s in the plot for the show. When I was a kid, I think I once dropped a spoon down there without knowing, turned on the disposal and heard it. I immediately turned it back off and retrieved the spoon without incident (except for an ass whooping by my Mom lol). I was probably 9 years old.

  18. Very common. Only dangerous if you stick your hand down there. It’s not for trash. It’s for bits of leftover food.

  19. I’ve never had one, but I live in a rural area. We just throw scraps outside in the garden or in the trash.

  20. I think it’s pretty common, but not universal. I’m 40 and I think I’ve only ever lived in one place that had one.

  21. Most of them now have an “air switch” to turn them on. You push (very firmly) on a button that pressurizes a tube that activates the relay to turn it on. The button is also recessed so it’s not easy to hit it accidentally.

    In the old days there would be a simple wall “light switch” to turn them on, leading to a lot of confusion about which switch does what in the kitchen. This kind of standard light switch would definitely be more hazardous as you never know when someone will walk into your kitchen and try to instinctively flip on a light switch while your hand is down in the garbage disposal trying to get a chicken bone out.

    With the pressure switches, they are really safe as they are almost impossible to accidentally turn on.

  22. Garbage disposals are about a 50% probablity in American households. They go under the sink on one side. Typically one side will be equiped with a disposal and the other side won’t – the two join after the disposal. They are not particularly dangerous. Kids get coached very hard at a very early age to be extremely cautious around them though.

    I’m intimidated by my garbage disposal, personally. My feeling is that if it’s solid, it should go in the garbage can rather than the sink.

    My mom, on the other hand, believes anything that can’t be actually sold should go into the garbage disposal. I’m surprised she doesn’t try to dispose of yard waste that way.

    Ok, slight exageration.

  23. Depends on where you are. I don’t have one, but I’m in San Francisco so we’re pretty conscious about how we dispose of our trash/rubbish.

    Most of my friends dont have one in their homes either. Garbage disposals are generally getting phased out in my area too

  25. fairly common. I didn’t grow up with one bc my childhood home had a septic tank instead of sewage. but I have one now. they drain to sewage.

    they’re not very dangerous. like sure they could hurt you, but you have to really be trying to do so. a common misconception is that they’re full of sharp blades, but [that’s not the case](https://youtu.be/b4weX2rnm24?si=a_ArH3K2QHGgXLUv)

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