On April
15, the Raleigh, NC, City Council reversed its ban on the installation of food
waste disposers. In response to this development,
InSinkErator President
Jerry Ryder issued the following statement:
From
Jerry Ryder, President of InSinkErator
You may have seen news reports about the surprise decision by the
Raleigh, NC City Council to ban installation of food waste disposers. Today
we’re pleased to update
you that Raleigh has reversed that ban.
Just six weeks ago, without soliciting any public discussion, the Council voted
to ban disposers. In response to an outcry from community residents, the
Council agreed to review the ordinance.
InSinkErator contributed to
this discussion by providing city officials with numerous environmental
studies, as well as evidence that ground food is effectively treated by
municipal sewers and waste water treatment systems. We also
attended City Council meetings to present these facts, and asked relevant
experts to join us. These experts included Dr. Kevin Keener,
a Purdue University professor of food science, and Kendall
Christiansen, former chair of New York City’s Recycling Advisory
Board and environmental
consultant. We were supported in this matter by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
After hearing
all the evidence, on April 15 the City Council voted unanimously to reverse the
ordinance and
allow disposers.
With growing concern about
mitigating greenhouse gases, it is important that the public and
our industry understands the positive role food waste disposers daily play
as part of an environmentally friendly, holistic waste management system. Disposers send food waste to wastewater treatments
plants that convert organic waste into fertilizer products,
and possibly capture energy in the process. Alternatively food waste will end up in a
landfill where it contributes to methane gas emissions (a powerful
greenhouse gas) and leachate, which can damage ground water.
We
are attaching a brief white paper that is based on the findings of nearly two
dozen contemporary studies and further explains these issues.
Jerry
Ryder
InSinkErator President
