Most food waste need never see a dustbin, much less pavements or alleyways, according to the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA). For decades homes in Sweden, North America, Australia and many other countries have found a far more hygienic, affordable and environmentally friendly way of dealing with food leftovers, without a bin bag crossing the kitchen threshold.

Douglas Herbison, Chief Executive, AMDEA, explains: “ Domestic food waste disposers are small devices that fit under the kitchen sink, they grind food waste to minute particles that are easily carried away by the waste water system, direct to treatment plants where both energy and fertiliser are usually extracted. This process actually recovers value from the dirtiest form of waste, without it ever hitting the road.”

Currently just 6% of UK homes use a food waste disposer and Herbison believes that this technique for managing food waste offers an important additional recycling solution. “If rubbish collections are disrupted for any reason it is food waste that causes most problems. It smells, attracts vermin, putrefies and contaminates any other waste it touches. Food waste disposers are a particularly useful option in densely populated, urban areas.”

With local authority budgets challenged and waste collection high on the policy agenda, AMDEA has recently launched a new website www.food-waste-disposer.org.uk to explain the basics of how these appliances work. Using minimal energy and water, current scientific assessment has shown food waste disposers have a relatively good carbon footprint, prompting cities such as New York and Stockholm to adopt them as a tool to achieve their environmental goals. The website is packed with facts, drawn from experience of decades of usage worldwide, along with summaries of the most recent case studies.

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Notes to Editors

AMDEA is the UK trade association for the manufacturers of small and large domestic appliances. It represents over 80% of the domestic appliance industry. Members are all manufacturers, importers or distributors of household appliances and include most of the UK's top selling brands. In 2010 those members who manufacture food waste disposers formed AMDEA’s Food Waste Disposer Group to promote greater awareness of the benefits of food waste disposers, in the belief that wider take-up in the UK could play a significant role in improving sustainability of both new homes and the existing urban housing stock, including multi-tenanted properties.

Press contact for further information:

Dee Fernandes


Tel: 020 7722 9034 Mob: 07887648434
