With the cost of everything going up, including the removal of trash, it’s a great time to invest in a commercial disposer if you don’t have one or to consider an upgrade if you have an older model. A commercial waste disposer is a great way to reduce solid food waste and make your dishroom operation more efficient. Like much commercial foodservice equipment, waste disposers may have a simple function, but new technologies can make them even more efficient with every new iteration.
Having a disposer as part of your warewashing equipment set up is a convenient and efficient means of eliminating food waste and it will also improve sanitation in your correctional kitchen. A disposer helps to reduce garbage and dumpster odors. If you have any problems with rodents or insects, using a disposer to break down food waste will help, and it will also lower trash hauling cost since the amount of trash will be reduced.
When you purchase as disposer, you should receive the following:
- control
- sink or sink mount to use with an existing sink
- stopper
- water-inlet hardware
- back-flow preventer
- solenoid valve
- flow control
Waste disposers are often installed in a dish table, pot/pan sink or vegetable prep, salad prep and meat prep areas. It is generally recommended that you only grind up edible food waste in a disposer because items non-edible food products like seafood shells or corn husks can clog up drain pipes.
When shopping for a disposer, you’ll find options in size, voltage, mounting hardware, controls and power. In fact, you’ll find disposers with as much as 10 horse power motors or as low as ½ horse power motors. The size and power all depend on the anticipated usage requirements. You will also find models with extremely simple controls to models that offer greater control of water and energy.
There are energy-saving disposers available which monitor when to add water and when to turn the system off without the need for an operator present. Water saving features can provide cost reductions in your utilities over time. These units operate with a sensor that automatically turns off the high water flow once grinding is complete. While you pay more up front for these units, in certain areas of the country that restrict water usage, these may be the best option for your operation. Additionally, there are some disposers with security/ correctional features like offset shoots, which sit several inches from the sink drain to prevent tampering or tamper-proof screws and guards to prevent arms from reaching into operating units.
At Cook’s, we offer several different disposers from both Salvajor and Insinkerator. You can speak with our knowledgeable sales team for assistance in increasing efficiency and reducing waste in your operation through the addition of a commercial waste disposer.
