Seriously now, what CAN'T go down the disposal?

Do: Boneless meat, pitless fruit, bits of food you scraped off dishes before/while washing

Don't: Noodles, rice, banana skins, potato skins, avocado skins, fruit pits, bones

There seems to be some controversy over whether or not eggshells can be put in the disposal, some people say you can, others say you can't. I think it's an "at your own risk" thing, because I do it and haven't had a problem, but I don't do it on a regular basis. I wouldn't want it to malfunction and wind up footing the bill for a busted disposal. since people have their own opions, fyi, eggs shells do sharpen the blades of the disposal.

That's from Answers.com... basically, anything fibrous like asparagus, celery, banana skins that can wrap around the blades is a no-no. All bones are a no-no, as well. Obviously anything that's hard (pits)... but if in doubt, ask your plumber!

PS I'm not sure why potato skins can't go in there and if you chop stuff up, it's better for your disposal.

Edit: I always put my coffee grinds down the sink.

There are two considerations. One is the ability of the machine itself to function properly. The other consideration is where the ground food flushes into. Should I assume you're speaking of the former?

Very informative! Thank you! That bit about fiborous things makes a lot of sense. I'm really curious as to how something as dainty as eggshells could sharpen the blades.

Mr. B says potato skins swell up or something and clog the pipes.

Eggshells and coffee grounds are ALWAYS thrown in the garden around here.

No bones, popcorn kernels or banana peels. Just about everything else is fair game. I think unicorn hair might clog the thing up. I do occasionally have to manually unbind it.

I don't think there will be enough skin in one piece to clog anything. I've put potato skins down the disposal for years without any issues.

Noodles swell up, as does rice - don't know about potato skins. I compost, too, so they go there, but the grounds actually help to clean the garbage disposal. I put eggshells down there, too, when not composting. I think it helps it.

I suppose I'm speaking of both......

Here in Cambridge, all our gray water gets dumped into our waterways (not sure if it's the Charles River or the Boston Harbor. There has been a push to stop people from using their garbage disposals because it was adding even more pollution to our systems. Of course, maybe Portland does things differently!

Dynamite, nitrogylericin, diamonds, titanium bastard swords, cell phones (unless they're bricked iPhones then grind away), a +4 magic bracelet with resistance against blade weapons, golem fingers (remember a golem is usually made of clay or stone so your thread prohibition regarding meat doesn't apply), Jim Abbott's right hand....*















* Trick inclusion! The former southpaw from the California Angels was born without a right hand so it would be impossible to have his right hand had get caught in a garbage disposal.

Doesn't sending food scraps to the dump create a different set of problems though?

Here they're very slowly rolling out a city-wide composting program with hopes to reduce garbage pick up to once a month. Research shows (they say) that with proper recycling and composting that trash is almost eliminated.

Once in a while the newpaper here sends out a recycling expert to go through someone's trash with them. It really is amazing how little actual trash needs to go to the dump.

<snort!>

So what do you do with your unicorn hair?

I think he eats it.

I think that if the dump site is situated well, food shouldn't be as much of a problem as un-decompostable stuff.

Knit pixie sweaters and fairy stockings!

I know from some hard experience that flower stalks are very, very bad... and grease. It clog drains, other than that, I think Mame's list is a good one to follow.

A problem that I expect we will soon be rid of, as disposals are made illegal. Our grand kids will listen to our stories of putting food down the drain in amazement.

avacado skins get ground up nicely in our disposal.
cooked noodles and rice do too.
asparagus and celery need to be cut into small pieces first...

Larger body parts don't do so well in the disposal.

Oops, I've said too much.