What's better for the environment? Should I throw my left over food into the trash can or run it through disposal into sink?

In the trash can.

Compost. Where does rojo live? Is there not a composting service?

I reuse any grocery bags I find as trash bags. If I see a wad of bags in the checkout aisle floor, on the supernatant of the trash bin, or just unsullied bags I can grab, I bring those home to my garage or kitchen to use as trash bags.

I still produce a ton of plastic recycling waste, but at least it's usually capable of being processed

as far as garbage, though, brothers Johnson? You could turn it into fodder for a compost heap which could nourish a home tomato and herb garden.

Rojo is a hardcore MAGAt. Composting is for liberal sissies.

Throw it out back for the raccoons.

Throw it in the garage so you won't starve when you get locked in.

And while in the garage, ask yourself how it is that every day you have a lot of leftover food. Where does it magically come from?

Interesting question! I thought it would be the garbage disposal, but I asked ChatGPT and got this.

Using a garbage disposal for leftover food is often more environmentally friendly than throwing it in the trash, though the best option overall is usually composting if that's available. Here’s a breakdown of the environmental impacts:

1. **Garbage Disposal:** When you grind food waste down the sink, it travels to wastewater treatment plants. Many modern plants capture methane from the treatment process, which can then be used to generate energy. This helps to offset the environmental impact of the disposal. However, using a garbage disposal does require water, which adds to the resource use, though generally not substantially.

2. **Trash (Landfill):** Food in the trash goes to a landfill, where it decomposes anaerobically (without oxygen) and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. While some landfills capture methane, many do not, allowing it to escape into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change.

3. **Composting (Best Option):** Composting allows food waste to decompose aerobically (with oxygen), which doesn’t produce methane and instead creates nutrient-rich compost that can benefit soil. Community composting or at-home composting are ideal if available.

If composting isn’t an option, using a garbage disposal can be slightly better than the trash for the environment, provided your local wastewater plant has energy-recapture or efficient treatment processes.

You are over 39 years old, you can learn to cook just a little less food.

I live in Baltimore City. Do we have that?

As for composting that seems like a major pain for little benefit. And then what do I do with my fertilizer?

Composing is pretty simple.

Composting is the best way to make sure you have mice and rats in your house.

A friend of mine studied paper science in college. It’s actually an engineering degree and isn’t just about paper. It’s also about wood pulping, chemical and energy recovery, and other stuff like that. All of it also involves the study of water treatment. He said most of what we put down the disposal is horrible for water treatment and makes the process a lot more difficult. I used to put chicken bones, coffee grounds, and just about all that I could down the disposal. Now I don’t put much down there. If I can’t compost it it does into the trash.

Composting is easy. I have one of those tumbler composters in the yard. Vegetable & fruit waste, coffee grounds, egg shells, some cardboard, and other stuff goes into it. If it gets too wet I add dry stuff like leaves or more cardboard. The cardboard is like the stuff from paper towels & toliet paper tubes, egg cartons, and stuff like that. No corrugated cardboard. When it is all broken down it just goes on the garden. Some people put meat scraps in the compost but I really don’t want to attract coyotes or other animals onto my property.

America, this is why trump got elected.

why is this on the site as "on the boards"? obviously no one is talking abt it, maybe no one cares, probably, half a day in, but you feel the need to push it... because maybe youve become addicted to the attention negative or good, and youre asking abt stuff tht aint got nothing to do with running, but you're lonely depressed and you think abt this and have no other way to relate to this depressing reality for yourself than post it on this stank site you you moderate... do you ever stop and wonder, maybe ?

I avoid the garbage disposal since it may start clogging your drain lines.

Luckily, my municipality lets us dispose of food waste in with the yard waste recycling.

POST OF THE YEAR

It looks like a number of places to drop off food scraps for composting are available in Baltimore City, so you don't have to do your own composting.

I started separating my food scraps a few years ago when NYC began to offer curbside pickup of food and yard waste in my neighborhood and have found it preferable over throwing food waste in the garbage. A nice benefit is my kitchen garbage no longer starts to stink since nothing goes in there that will rot and I collect food waste in a container in the refrigerator or freezer until I need to empty it. This option may be more or less convenient for you depending on how close you live to a drop off site and the volume of waste that you generate.

What type of food? Are you cooking for steaks akd eating 2? I really don't understand what leftovers you have. We raised 3 children and never had leftovers. We were pretty good at preparing the correct amount of food knowing that they all would be hungry an hour later regardless of how much dinner they had.

But the answer to your question is to put soft food into the disposal. Put meat or fibrous vegetables in the garbage. If unsure, use the garbage rather than risk clogging the sink or tying up the disposal..

If you wanted to know what inconveniences you the least, perhaps you shouldn't have pretended to be concerned about environmental impacts.