By SemperScreen®. We own residential and commercial real estate properties across the United States, and we built the permanent sink screen for our own buildings before we sold it to anyone else.
Garbage disposals have been standard in a rental's kitchen for decades along with the headaches they create for landlords and tenants. The hassle is generally greater than the benefit, and more owners now take them out at unit turn. We cover what a disposal costs an owner, what changes when it comes out, and what goes in the drain afterwards.
Should landlords remove garbage disposals from rental properties?
Many owners do, usually at unit turn. A disposal is a motor under every kitchen sink: it needs repairs and eventual replacement, it needs water to run from the tap every time it is used, and it grinds food into the same drain lines that produce clog tickets. Removing it takes those costs off the books. The sink still has to drain, so the real decision is what goes in the opening. Whether you may remove one is a separate question, covered in can a landlord remove a garbage disposal from a rental.
What does a garbage disposal cost a rental owner?
Three costs, and two of them repeat.
- Replacement. A garbage disposal typically lasts 8 to 12 years.1 Replacing one runs about $200 to $625 including installation,2 so one replacement across a 50-unit building is roughly $10,000 to $31,250. Check the unit's warranty first; residential disposer warranties are often short (i.e. noting that some new 1/3 hp disposers come with a two-year warranty while some 2025 and older 1/3 hp disposers have a one-year warranty.)3
- Service calls. Drain and plumbing clogs are one of the top three maintenance ticket categories, at $250+ per call, and a jammed or leaking disposal is one more reason for the same call.
- Water. Covered in the next section.
Run it on your own numbers: units, disposal calls per year, your call-out cost and your water and sewer rate. The drain protection ROI calculator does the arithmetic.
How much water does a garbage disposal use?
The disposal draws no water on its own; the tap runs while it grinds, plus the amount of time after each use to properly clear the waste down the drain and hopefully to the sewer or septic. For commercial kitchens, EPA's WaterSense at Work guidance puts food disposers at 3 to 10 gallons per minute.4 Under the LEED® green building program, LEED v5 (WEc2 Enhanced Water Efficiency, Option 3, Table 4) rates a food waste disposer at 3–8 gpm under full load.5 A residential disposal runs for less time per use, but it runs in every unit, every day. For the water and NOI math, see water waste and NOI in multifamily properties.
Do garbage disposals cause more clogs?
Grinding makes food smaller; it does not make it leave. Most homes, rentals, and commercial buildings are designed with gravity-fed plumbing systems with a scouring velocity to carry this ground waste through the pipes, but problems with the pipes can lead to poor scouring velocity and issues clearing this waste from your pipes, leaving this waste to create clogs. The Tahoe City Public Utility District reports that two-thirds of sewer backups happen in the owner's own sewer line, frequently caused by things flushed down the toilet or ground up in the garbage disposal.6 Grease adds to it: EPA found grease caused 47 percent of reported blockages.7 In a rental, a disposal also invites the wrong things down the drain, and no move-in rule changes that. Engineering controls work without relying on people, which is why they rank above training and rules.8
"Clogged drain lines in our apartment buildings are significantly reduced after installing SemperScreen® sink strainers. This product pays for itself 5 times over with just the first blockage or repair it prevents. Very few products in the apartment industry have that kind of return."
Patrick and Robert, BLVD Capital
Are garbage disposals being banned?
In some places, for commercial kitchens; see commercial garbage disposal bans: what to install instead. In housing, codes tend to treat the disposal as optional equipment. Massachusetts lists garbage grinders among owner-installed optional equipment, which an owner may remove when a unit has been vacated or before a new tenancy.9
What goes in the drain when the disposal comes out?
The opening left behind is a standard kitchen sink drain. SemperScreen® permanent sink screen replaces the complete kitchen sink drain assembly in one part: flange including permanent screen, compression gasket, cup and nut plus tailpiece with bushing and nut to connect with the existing drain pipe. It is the only non-removable permanent sink screen on the market that fits standard 3½" drains, and is polished stainless (304 stainless steel). It installs in ~15 minutes per drain, retrofit, no plumbing modifications, and was tested and COMPLIED with ASME A112.18.2-2020 / CSA B125.2-20. It has no motor and no water connection; food stays in the screen until someone scoops it into the trash or the compost bin.
SemperScreen® recommends that you always refer to local building codes when modifying a building's plumbing system. For the plumbing steps, see how to change a garbage disposal to a regular drain.
"We installed a SemperScreen® sink screens in each of our units. Our tenants love saving money on water and I love not having to worry about broken garbage disposals or clogged drains anymore."
Bernardo, Resident Property Manager
"Works great on our rental units. No more sink issues!"
John M, Multifamily Property Owner
How do owners roll it out across a portfolio?
- At unit turn. The unit is empty, and in places like Massachusetts that is when removal is allowed.9 Most portfolios finish within one or two turn cycles.
- In one campaign. Faster, and it removes the disposal line from the budget at once; schedule it around resident notice.
- In new construction. Specify the permanent sink screen from the start; test data is on certification and testing.
With residents, lead with what they notice: nothing to jam, a quieter kitchen, and cleaning in one step. Just scoop it out!
Frequently asked questions
Won't tenants complain about losing the disposal?
Some will ask. Most adjust quickly once the sink stops clogging, especially when it is presented as an upgrade at move-in rather than a removal mid-lease.
Do any cities require a garbage disposal?
Requirements vary, so check local code before scheduling work. Massachusetts, for one, requires the kitchen sink and treats the disposal as optional equipment.9
Is scooping food waste messy?
No more than emptying a removable basket, and far less than clearing a clog or a jammed disposal. Food stays in the screen until someone scoops it out.
For rental and property teams: We know you have at least one drain that keeps clogging (we have experience with those). Contact us and let's discuss testing our permanent sink screens in those bad drains.
Commercial properties (restaurants, hotels, retail breakrooms, hospitals, senior care facilities, office breakrooms, industrial warehouses) have some of the same issues with food waste. Find out what we recommend in these larger facilities.
References
- Bob Vila. "How Long Do Garbage Disposals Last?" Retrieved from https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-long-do-garbage-disposals-last/
- Angi. "How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Garbage Disposal? [2026 Data]." Retrieved from https://www.angi.com/articles/what-s-it-cost-replace-garbage-disposal.htm
- InSinkErator. "Warranty Information." Retrieved from https://support.insinkerator.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/639/~/warranty-information
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, WaterSense, Office of Water. "WaterSense at Work: Commercial Kitchen Equipment, 4.9 Food Disposal Equipment." EPA 832-F-23-003. February 2025. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-05/ws-commercial-watersense-at-work_Section_4.9_Food_Disposals.pdf
- U.S. Green Building Council. LEED v5 BD+C, "WEc2 Enhanced Water Efficiency," Option 3, Table 4. Retrieved from https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction/v5/wec2
- Tahoe City Public Utility District. "What Not To Put Down Your Toilet or Drains: Frequently Asked Questions." February 19, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.tcpud.org/sites/default/files/documents/ffres.pdf
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water. "National Pretreatment Program (40 CFR 403): Controlling Fats, Oils, and Grease Discharges from Food Service Establishments." EPA-833-F-12-003. September 2012. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-07/pretreatment_foodservice_fs.pdf
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Hierarchy of Controls." Updated April 10, 2024. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hierarchy-of-controls/about/index.html
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health. "105 CMR 410.000: Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation," §§ 410.100(A)(3), 410.130(C). Retrieved from https://www.mass.gov/doc/105-cmr-410-minimum-standards-of-fitness-for-human-habitation-state-sanitary-code-chapter-ii/download
LEED® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Green Building Council®.
