Managing Kitchen Waste at the Source

May 7, 2024

The kitchen generates a huge amount of organic and dry waste

The issue of managing household waste is becoming more complex with levels of waste, landfill, recycling and waste separation issues. The modern kitchen design does involve waste management but often only at a superficial level by way of bins only.

Food waste disposers are the ultimate kitchen convenience. Mounted discreetly beneath your sink, a sink food disposal system will effortlessly grind down and dispose of most of your food waste – up to and including small bones. The resulting tiny particles are automatically flushed away down the kitchen drain.

The separate collection of organic waste prevents biodegradable matter from ending up in landfills indiscriminately and local governments are waking up to this issue, thereby pushing towards better design, accessories and appliances regarding waste collection in the kitchen area.

There are two appliance options for reducing and managing kitchen waste - installing either a garbage disposal unit or a waste compactor right into the kitchen. Though they are often referred to by similar names, they are two totally different appliances with their own distinct operating functions.

Kitchen waste management is simple to implement and could save business time, money and resources, whilst also benefiting the environment from eco-friendly recycling. Photo Courtesy: Freepik

Often called a food waste disposer but more commonly known as a garbage disposal unit, it is a small grinding system that works unnoticed under the sink to crush foods that go down the drain.

Food waste accounts for around one-fifth of all rubbish. The most well-designed kitchen can appear bad if proper systems are not in place for waste disposal. Food waste disposers quickly and efficiently remove all food waste from the kitchen bin. They are fast, economical and quite practical since they are mounted discreetly beneath the kitchen sink. Actually, it is a very useful kitchen appliance that is still not as popular in many Indian kitchens simply due to a lack of proper information.

A food waste disposer really does make a difference to a kitchen’s green status. About 20% of a household’s waste is food, and most of it ends up via the bin in landfills or worse, in dhalaos in many urban areas which adds to the problem of sanitation. In stark contrast, food waste that has passed through a disposer can be recycled by wastewater treatment plants to form ‘soil conditioner’, a form of fertilizer, or biogas. In residential blocks, colonizers and developers can use this as a value add-on to underline the green status of their projects.

Food waste disposers are quite economical to use, requiring a very short run time, and their energy and water use is minimal. Photo Courtesy: Freepik

In bigger kitchens too

In every kitchen, there is waste that must be recycled; waste that can be hazardous and waste that must be stored in a certain way.

Every institution with a large kitchen has a legal duty to manage the waste that their business produces suitably and sufficiently. Kitchen waste management is simple to implement and could save business time, money and resources, whilst also benefiting the environment from eco-friendly recycling. Since such measures will soon become a legal injunction it is wise to be better prepared. However, it is not due to legal stipulations that such measures should be put in place but because it is simply so good for an efficient kitchen functioning.

Kitchen produces a variety of waste which will require different disposal methods, such as recycling for cardboard, glass and even plastic waste. However, food waste remains the most neglected aspect in Indian kitchens- even the very expensive ones.

The kitchen produces a variety of waste which will require different disposal methods, such as cardboard, glass and plastic waste, besides food waste. Photo Courtesy: Freepik