For those that like to be up on their terminology:
The proper term is disposer. Disposal is General Electric's brand name. Not much different than saying hot water heater.
Hi Eric,
Just last week I spent a LOT of time on the phone and internet researching that bit of information. To the best of my ability and belief, I must state that it's just not true.
Garbage disposal and garbage disposer are not trademarked or trade names. All variants that are commonly used are acceptable. "Garbage Disposal" is by far the most popular and is used by EVERY manufacturer that I could think of. It's also the most common term in dictionaries and such.
If anyone has any evidence otherwise, I'd be happy to be wrong just to know the truth.
It'd be like Kleenex trying to trademark the words "facial tissue". You can't. The words belong to everyone. They're part of our language.