Am I being over-senstive or is this quite disgusting?

[PistachioTiramisu]

I had some leftovers from a beef stew - gravy, bits of mushroom and onion, etc. I wanted to dispose of it as the bin men were due so asked DH to take it out when he put the food bin out. He said he would just flush it down the loo!!! I have never, ever heard of anyone suggesting doing this before, and it seems quite disgusting to me. What do you think?

P.S. He did dispose of it properly in the end!

I don't know if it's disgusting as I can see the logic in it and have heard of people doing this before, but it's not the right way to dispose of unwanted food - it should go into the bin.

The only things that can go into the toilet are things which have already been digested - and toilet paper (and cleaning products).

Same. Food waste really grieves me. The only thing that only ever really gets wasted here is the odd slice of mouldy bread.

Unwise to flush food @PistachioTiramisu

Your toilet is not a rubbish bin

So if you flush your loo, or run the tap with gravy washed down the sink, where do people think this all ends up? It's the same blooming system! It makes no difference

From AI:

It’s not OK to flush unwanted food down the toilet — even though it might seem harmless at first. Here’s why:
🚫 Practical reasons

1. Plumbing blockages:
2. Food (especially greasy, starchy, or fibrous items like rice, pasta, or vegetables) doesn’t break down easily in pipes. It can swell, stick to the sides, and cause clogs — especially in bends and joints.
3. Fat and grease buildup:
4. Oils and fats solidify as they cool, creating “fatbergs” that block sewers. These are expensive to remove and cause local flooding or sewage backups.
5. Toilet and sewage design:
6. Toilets and sewers are designed for human waste and toilet paper only. Food waste changes the consistency of what’s being flushed and disrupts the system.

🌍 Environmental reasons

1. Wastewater treatment strain:
2. Food adds unnecessary organic load to treatment plants, making it harder and more energy-intensive to process sewage.
3. Pollution risk:
4. If bits of food reach waterways, they can decompose and reduce oxygen levels, harming aquatic life.

This is the way we do it. No way would I be flushing it! People are so weird

Whether it’s disgusting or not, you’re not supposed to put leftover food down the toilet:

https://www.thameswater.co.uk/help/water-and-waste-help/blockages/bin-it

I would freeze it and add it to the next stew I make. Waste not want not 😄

No. It would be disgusting to dispose of the waste that should go down the toilet in the bin, but I don't think it works the other way round. You're probably disgusted at the mental image of beef stew in the pan and it's unfortunate visual resemble to what you might usually see there, which may make you see beef stew in a different light.

This will clog up your waste pipes. Why not make a soup with it. Hate food being thrown away.

I've never heard of this. I sieve stews and soups. Liquid down the sink, solids in the compost bin or the grey bin if the compost is full. I'm not disgusted by it, it's just not how you're supposed to dispose of uneaten food.

Can you elaborate as to why food going down the loo is more disgusting than poo going down the loo? Interesting perspective…

IMO food bins are way more disgusting than a loo! Rank, stink, horrible bin juice, flies 🤢🤢

Putting random stuff down the loo may block the drains, if everyone treats the loo like a bin. There was a really disgusting programme about the state of the sewers the other day a lot of it caused by people putting all sorts down the loo. The guy was saying the three Ps go in there, pee, poo and toilet paper, nothing else.

@ResusciAnnie , the sewage system is designed for treating pee, poo and paper. bits of onion and meat will not break own quickly. They'll encourage rats and create fatbergs.

Food bin contents go to an anaerobic digester, which can break them down.

Our local authority refuses to collect food waste because it can't charge us for our green bins if we put food waste in, so we have three compost bins going and when they're full we have to use the grey bin.

Unbelievably disgusting!

Yes, I regularly do this for things such as soup. Thinking about it, my mother used to do it, so I guess that’s where I got it from.

There's a simple solution that avoids the risk to the sewerage system. Buy a cat and a dog to eat left over meat and fish, a goat (two for company) for any veg or fruit peelings or bread or rice, a chicken for cooked food waste (not really permitted but who will know), rabbit for lettuce and nut waste, (goats don't like lettuce).
Sorted, at no risk to any system and no disgusting acts of bringing a food dish near a toilet.
Sometimes the simple solutions are the best.😁

To those saying 'never down the loo, I pour it down the sink', What's the difference? I thought both ended up in the same place

@ClareBlue and if you don’t have a small holding to accommodate the pets, they’ll just have to be a bit squashed up on the balcony!

There's no logical reason for it not to go down the loo, chucking old gravy down the loo is perfectly fine. It's just not what people are used to.

@GoodQueenBessso what about people throwing up? It’s a lot thicker than that.

Honestly people are so precious. Saving random bits of gravy to have as soup (please never invite me to your house for dinner 🤢) and feeling like they have failed because they have food waste???? Really

Just let them run wild. Your neighbours will admire the goat's ability to climb on their car and eat their flowers, chicken shit all over their drive isn't really a problem and they will thank you for not having to set their alarm because your dog wakes them up at 6am every morning barking. It's a win win situation.

I put liquid food waste in the non-recyclable waste bin, if it's unusable and there is no food-waste collection in place. As long as it's not an empty bin bag, you end up with wet rubbish instead of dry rubbish. Never down the toilet - undigested food can contribute to fatbergs, rats and incomplete decomposition.

I do this