New food waste rules prompt surge in garburators

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – We are three weeks into Metro Vancouver’s new food waste collection rules and rather than navigate those regulations, some people are turning to garburators to relieve that problem.

Anything organic is fair game for most units including small bones.

But that doesn’t mean they’re an alternative if you just don’t feel like bagging up that organic garbage.

It all depends on how you use it says Gord Ratzlaff with Hillcrest Plumbing. “Any organic type of material can go down, even small bones. So it’s a matter of how they use the garburator that makes a big difference.”

You’ve got to be patient, make sure water is running constantly and don’t try to jam anything that won’t fit.

And if you do?

“Then you’re going to get a backup. It’ll start backing up into your other sink or it can back up the garburator and plug up and you’ll get water washing back up into the sink there,” says Ratzlaff.

That means you’ll likely have to hit a re-set switch or even disassemble it.

So keep the water running and don’t jam any T-Bones down there.

As for whether can replace that green bin tucked away under the sink? “It’s not a best alternative to garbage,” says Ratzlaff.

“More and more apartment blocks are not putting in garburators anymore. Everybody is trying to go green. Now that you’re able to put it in with your green bin and everything else, all the organics, more and more people are going to that.”

Many cities in Canada and the United States have banned them outright because of their effect on the sewage system.