In the postwar period of American prosperity, many new innovations were rolled out that changed domestic life. There was the washing machine, which probably made the biggest single difference. But there were others, including the dishwasher and the multifunction refrigerator.
One of them was the garbage disposal or, as it was called then, the insinkerator, a play on words from incinerator. The idea was to put food waste straight down the sink. A grinder is turned on that pulps the old food and sends it to waste water. No more stinky trash. No more scraping muck off plates into bags.
The invention dated from the mid 1930s but the war put distribution on hold. By the early 1950s, they had become very popular as kitchens were upgraded with all the new things.
From my earliest memories, my family always had one. It was my understanding that this is what civilized people do. I could not even imagine what it would be like to do without. You become so used to just throwing anything and everything down there, controlling the inevitable odors with lemon peels or baking soda.
Then about ten years ago, I found myself in a large old home that did not have a garbage disposal. I was horrified. How in the world could I make this work? To my astonishment, I got used to it. Then it was not even an issue.
I still live in a place without one but every so often I find myself assisting in kitchens that have them.
I’m now in a position to evaluate. It is my considered opinion that life is better without.
How can this be? The sink works better without the machine just beneath the drain. It clogs less because people aren’t sticking a whole chicken down the sink. Forks and knives don’t drop down and get beaten up by blades. There is no risk of sticking your fingers into the equivalent of a chainsaw. Injury is rare due to safety features but the threat feels everpresent.
It turns out, too, that when food waste is not easily thrown down the sink, one is more careful about portions on plates. The old rule that one should eat everything on one’s plate—a rule that dates far back in American history—can suddenly make a return. A new ethos takes over the table, one far more rooted in a tradition of economy.
It gets better. Now instead of throwing food away, you see the whole point of leftovers. Save extra food for later. Even a sauce has its uses in food later. Tastes great. As for genuine waste, it can be thrown out or composted, as household used to do.
As it turns out, the garbage disposal had the unintended effect of changing cooking and eating habits, encouraging profligacy over frugality.
There are other issues too. Every garbage disposal accumulates slimy food waste that does not go away and then attracts bugs and maggots. You could say that putting the food in the trash does the same but here is the thing. With food waste in the trash, you now have incentive to empty it more often. Stretch those legs and get outside, rather than stuffing endless things in there and waiting a full week.
A sink and a sink alone aligns all the incentives correctly: cooking, eating, manners, cleanliness, frugality, and sanitation. Without the magic waste eater, one is just more careful and deliberate in the kitchen.
As it turns out, garbage disposals are not as common as one might think. Only half of American households have them, even now. That has not changed in 40 years. Apparently lots of people just don’t see the need.
What’s more, most people in the world don’t have them at all. In Europe and Australia, only 2 to 3 percent of households have them. They think we are weird for attaching a chainsaw to our sinks and spitting pounds of food muck into the water system. Nor does Latin America have them much at all.
I swear that if I were starting fresh and building a kitchen, I would leave one out completely.
An analogy occurs to me. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a brief fashion for what was called the trash compactor. You throw your trash in and turn it on. It smashes it down to a tiny flat thing. You keep doing this for a full week or more. It saves trips to the trash.
But then it turned out that these machines were a pain in the neck. No one wants to haul a 30-pound brick out to the dumpster. It also required special bags and made tons of noise. At some point in the 1990s, people just said oh to heck with it and started doing trash the normal way again.
The 1970s were a time of spectacular kitchen innovation, most of it entirely worthless. I recall them all. There was the electric can opener, the hamburger maker, the hotdog maker, the sandwich press, the egg slicer, the tortilla maker, and on and on. Most of these were sold on TV from a company named Ronco. The ads were very appealing. It turned out that most of this stuff was pointless. Toasters are one thing but not every food item requires a special machine.
It’s a peculiar feature of American culture that we are suckers for any new contraption or product that claims to make our lives better. The waterbed is my go-to example of such tomfoolery. No one in world history ever slept on water but somehow a range of companies convinced the American consumer that doing so was more natural … or something. The waterbed came and went.
My experience in realizing that the garbage disposal is superfluous or even destructive of old meritorious habits has me thinking of other products with which we can dispense. It’s beyond me why people have rice makers, for example, and I see nothing wrong with popping corn in a stock pan with a lid rather than a big contraption that requires cleaning.
As for products, I shall never forget the day that I realized that water and white vinegar is far more effective on glass and mirrors than any product you find at the store. Soon after I found that olive oil and lemon juice on a cloth is far more wonderful than any store-bought furniture polish.
Along these lines, I will never again pick up a toothpaste tube. I use plain baking soda or tooth tablets when I travel. For deodorant, a salt cylinder is best. And I don’t need to reiterate my opinion of shaving cream: it’s a racket through and through.
Back to the garbage disposal. Back in the day when I had one, I can recall spending whole afternoons disassembling them to find the clog, only to discover the top of a soda bottle nestled deep in the pipes. I’m telling you, that would never happen with just a sink. It’s only the faulty idea that just about anything can be ground up in the sink, a notion that comes to us by yet another deeply misgotten invention.
It’s a charm of American culture that we are suckers for every innovation. It also causes us enormous trouble. We hang on to gadgets pointlessly, often for decades, before we suddenly realize: oh this is stupid.
Just because something is new and claims to be improved doesn’t necessarily make it so. You really should finish all the food on your plate, and be careful not to let your eyes grow too big for your stomach, just as dad used to say.
