imaginarycircus

The Scholar says it is wrong to put food into the public waste stream and he throws all of his garbage into the trash. Our attempts to compost were disastrous--attracted varmints to the yard, didn't result in usable compost anyway. So into the trash it goes.

I personally would not put eggshells down the drain. It just doesn't sound like a very good idea to me. We actually don't use our garbage disposal at all anymore, ever since it clogged up as we were supposed to be leaving for the airport to catch a flight ON THANKSGIVING. Pretty much scarred us all for life. :-P

Yes, it's safe to put any truly compostable matter down a garbage disposal -- not as good an option as composting or a biodegrading, but far, far better for the environment and your community than tossing that stuff into the trash where it will get to a methane-producing sun-water-and-air-free landfill, such as those that serve the greater Boston area.

In the northeast, we're perfectly safe to compost everything that isn't oil, meat, or dairy. Eggshells are fair game for the disposal, though when you do compost you need to be sure you've got the right combination of nitrates to phosphates before you add them to the pile (in crushed pieces, not nearly whole).

Whatever you put down the garbage disposal probably ends up in the landfill also. Solids in sewage have to be separated out of the water and the water treated before it can be returned to the source. Wiki of course has an article, here. You could check with your area water treatment plant to see if they do anything to turn the water waste to something compostable. If yes then better down the disposal than in the trash.

Turkey necks definitely do not go in the disposal though.