-
Photo credit: Emerson Electric/In-Sink-Erator
Bringing NYC kitchens into the modern era by legalizing the installation of home food waste disposers
Most Americans are as familiar with kitchen sink food waste disposers as they are with microwave ovens. In New York City, however, food waste disposers were illegal for a half-century after their invention—until The Plumbing Foundation and Master Plumbers Council retained Geto & de Milly to conduct a government and public relations campaign aimed at legalizing these highly useful appliances. Working with the City Department of Environmental Protection, environmental advocacy groups and elected officials, we succeeded in convincing the Mayor and the City Council to pass legislation allowing the installation of food waste disposers in New York City homes.
Following our successful legislative effort, Emerson Electric Company and its subsidiary In-Sink-Erator, the world’s largest manufacturer of in-sink food waste disposers, retained our firm to introduce and promote food waste disposal devices in the New York City market. Geto & de Milly played an integral part in the New York City product launch, placing stories in numerous major media outlets and securing a product placement on Seinfeld. Today, food disposers are increasingly a standard appliance in new residential construction in New York City.