"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:19:45 +0000 (UTC), Steve Pope wrote:
>
>> Most places in the world outside of North America do not use
>> them. They are only legal here due to intensive lobbying
>> by the garbage-disposal industry.
>
> I thought you were joking.
>
> "The garbage disposer (or disposal) was invented in 1927 by John
> W. Hammes, an architect in Racine, Wisconsin. After eleven years
> of development, his In-Sink-Erator company put the invention on
> the market.
>
> Many US cities and towns had regulations against putting food
> waste (garbage) into the sewer system. In-Sink-Erator spent
> considerable effort, and convinced many localities to rescind the
> prohibitions. Eventually, many localities even mandated the use
> of disposals. New York City banned their use until 1997."
>
> http://4thefirsttime.blogspot.com/20...-disposer.html
>
> It does seem kinda strange considering all the other human waste
> that *is* allowed to enter the sewage system. You can flush a
> turd, but not potato peels.

Wow! I didn't know that.

My MIL's house was on a septic tank and she was waiting to get on the city's
sewer system. The day before she was to be hooked up to sewer, her toilet
backed up BIG time. My BIL had to call someone to deal with it right away.
The mess was unbelievable. The house has a smallish cellar and he was using
it to store tires in. He owns a used car dealership/mechanic place next
door. The sewage somehow dripped down onto all the tires. Worse yet, my
husband was down there when it happened. So he got dripped on.

At any rate, the man who came to suck out all the sewage into a tank said we
should not put any food down the toilet at all. And that's what I'd been
doing. We always did it at home, so...