The National
Association of Home Builders has recognized
the positive role food waste disposers play as part of an environmentally
responsible home waste management system. The installation of disposers
will now contribute one point toward a building’s achievement of the
organization’s National Green Building Standard certification.
There are a
minimum number of points required for each of the seven guiding principles, at
various levels, to ensure that all aspects of green building are addressed when
constructing an environmentally friendly building. The standard defines
what green practices can be incorporated into residential development and
construction and how homeowners can operate and maintain green homes.
“The decision to assign one
certification point to builders for installing disposers signifies an important
step in educating builders and consumers — nationally and internationally —
that food waste disposers play a beneficial role in environmental
responsibility,” said
David MacNair, vice
president of marketing at InSinkErator.
But how is a food waste disposer
environmentally responsible? Because food waste is 70 percent water, it is best
treated by grinding it in a disposer and sending it down a drain to be
processed in municipal wastewater treatment plants. Many large municipal
treatment plants capture the methane that’s a byproduct of treatment and
convert it into renewable energy. Wastewater treatment plants can also recycle
the biosolids, turning it into compost-like fertilizer.
Using a disposer helps reduce
biodegradable waste put into the trash, in turn reducing the waste sent to
landfills. More than two dozen independent studies confirm that disposers can
play an essential and compelling role in solving the waste management
challenge.
And disposers themselves have a
modest environmental footprint, using less than one percent of a household’s
water consumption and less than 50 cents a year in electricity to operate.
Composed primarily of metal, they can be recycled at the end of their useful
life
For
more information, visit InSinkErator at
www.insinkerator.com or NAHB's Green Building Program at
www.nahbgreen.com.
