Stop flushing food scraps: Why it's harmful and what to do instead

Do you flush food scraps down the toilet? While this might seem like a harmless solution, such behavior can lead to severe consequences for the environment, your home, and society.

It's better to shop to minimize food waste, but sometimes, unwanted leftovers in the fridge are unavoidable. We then wonder how to dispose of them, especially regarding soup or other liquid foods.

Is it permissible to flush soup down the toilet? Unfortunately, this practice can lead to serious plumbing problems. Fats contained in soups adhere to the walls of pipes, leading to blockages and costly repairs over time. Additionally, food scraps attract pests such as rats and cockroaches, which can carry diseases.

Furthermore, flushing leftovers down the toilet negatively impacts the environment. When they reach sewage treatment plants, these particles can disrupt the water purification process, contaminating rivers and lakes.

Composting food scraps or using them to feed animals is a better solution than pouring soup down the toilet. Composting is a natural process that turns scraps into valuable fertilizer for plants.

If you cannot compost, you can give scraps to local farmers or charitable organizations, provided they are still edible. Soup can also be poured into jars and preserved; other leftovers can be used as ingredients for new dishes or frozen.

If the soup has already spoiled, it's best to strain it. The broth can be poured down the drain, while meat, vegetables, etc., should be thrown into the mixed waste bin. If you have leftover cooked pasta, rice without sauce, or vegetables, you can dispose of them in the organic waste.