Fatty Waste Sinks Garbage Disposal Units in Raleigh

We throw everything but the kitchen sink down the kitchen sink--at least, those of us with garbage disposal units in our drains do. But no matter how fine you grind it, all that artery-clogging grease that goes down the drain has a way of gumming up our waterways, so the city of Raleigh in North Carolina has declared a ban on garbage disposal systems, according to the Charlotte Observer:

Starting March 17, any new home or business tying into the Raleigh sewer system will be forbidden from installing the device, part of an effort to keep sewer pipes clear. Violators could be fined $25,000 a day and have the water turned off. The city is also taking aim at existing garbage disposals, advising residents to avoid the temptation to grind scraps and stray rinds -- because they won't be able to replace the gadgets when they stop working after their 10- to 12-year life span.

"They should place their garbage in the garbage can, not in the sanitary sewer system," said Dale Crisp, the city's public utilities director.

The ban has angered some Raleigh residents, who note that plenty of people pour fats and oils down their drains regardless of whether they've got a food disposal unit. One contractor who opposes the Raleigh ban told the Charlotte Observer that "high-end clients expect the luxury of in-sink vegetable waste destruction."

The problem, of course, is not the vegetables but the fats, and the "luxury" of dumping those fats down the drain could cost the city of Raleigh more than one million dollars in fines if its sewers keep overflowing:

The disposal issue took on new urgency for the city last summer after the state Division of Water Quality announced it would step up enforcement against systems that experience sewer overflows. The state can fine offenders as much as $25,000 for such spills, and Raleigh has about 50 or so overflows annually.

We're so disconnected from the natural world that we never even think about where the stuff we pour down our pipes goes when we're through with it. The preferred way to dispose of kitchen grease is to pour it into a can or jar, let it harden, and send it to the landfill. As for the food scraps we send down the sink, if cities could figure out how to compost all that organic matter, we could be turning it into fertilizer instead of dumping it down our drains or sending it to the landfill where it turns toxic because it can't decompose properly.

How we dispose of our food waste deserves as much consideration as where we get our food from, but it's not a subject on most folks' radar. Will the Raleigh ban get more people to give their pipes a break and ease up on the grease? It gives the town's vegetarians another reason to feel virtuous, in any case. I can see the slogan, now: "Save Our Sewers--Go Veg!"

To get a better understanding of the role our sewers play in the environment, check out sewerhistory.org.