after some googling, i'm finding some helpful old GW posts. sorry for not researching first!

I keep my compost materials in one of those covered stainless buckets under the sink, just as you are considering. It works out OK, no smell at all. But I was very impressed with brooklyngalley's solution. Her DH fixed it so the compost thing sat up high, right behind the trash can in the trash pullout. That looked really good to me. Maybe she can tell you how it's working out for her.

Having my new kitchen for almost a year now, I can honestly say that my compost set-up is one of my favorite elements. My husband took the back trash-can in a 2-can Rev-A-Shelf pull-out and cut it down to fit the compost bucket that I had been using for a few years and did not want to part with. At this point, I rarely take the compost bucket out of the pull-out - just like regular trash, I bring the compostables to the pull-out. No issues with smell.

Brooklyngalley that's a great idea! Where is your recycling then?

I think having your trash/recycling in the prep area is a perfect solution. Compost under the sink, or on the counter would work, too. Currently we're mid-remodel with a step-on trash can out in the open, but our reno plan includes a 18" two-hole pull-out like Brooklyngalley, and locate it to the left of the sink and to the right of the range. It's where packaging gets unwrapped, cans get rinsed, etc. We'll use the front one for trash and back one for recyclable cans/bottles. Compost is also our biggest "trash/waste," but we just put it in a bowl on the counter while prepping and take it out to the chickens once per day. We don't have a fancy bucket with a lid -- just toss veggie scraps in a used prep bowl and out it goes during dish clean up. It doesn't sit around long enough to smell -- grosses me out to save compost for more than a day, and I think it's better for the chickens the fresher it is!

My trash and compost are both under the prep sink. The trash can is probably 20" high, the compost bucket is 12" high. To raise the compost bucket to max height, where it will just fit under the sink, the cabinet maker built me a shelf. I keep extra garbage bags underneath it. We were able to do this because the plumbing was turned to the back of the cabinet and the u-trap is against the rear wall. The sink drain is at the back side of the sink and the two containers sit either side of it. There is room for a third container next to the compost which I will need next year when my city brings in their kitchen scrap program (meat scraps and other non compost compostables). The "piece de resistance" in all this is the servo drive installed in the cabinet which by touching with my knee, the drawer opens! From the outside, the cabinet looks like two drawers. I love it - one of the most functional things we did.

I have a horrible setup in our current kitchen and I'm not sure there's much room for improvement when we get the new cabinets in. Such is the nature of small kitchens ... I'm just not willing to give up a storage cabinet for the garbage can. So the garbage and the recycling sit under the (only) sink. The compost lives in an uncovered stainless bucket on the counter. Not exactly the prettiest, but we take it out about every other day. I'm hoping to at least get a pullout of some kind in the new cabinets. I love the idea of fitting the compost bucket in there too.

Oh, wi-sailorgirl, do whatever you can to get a separate trash pull-out! I thought the same thing, that I couldn't spare any cab space in my 15 x 8 galley. But then, just a few weeks before construction was to start, DH nudged me away from the sink, as was his wont, so he could throw out something. I suddenly realized that a small trash pull-out next to the sink would be much cheaper than the cost of a defense attorney after I beaned him with the skillet I was washing. The new cabs provide so much more storage space that I don't miss the space in the 15" cab that houses the pull-out. It's possible that under the sink is your only option, but it's worth it to consider every possibility.

I've told this story before, but there is now a postscript. I thought the pull-out would eliminate the nudging, but then DH nudged me when he needed to get a replacement garbage bag out from under the sink. It only took one time, and I moved the box of bags into the trash pull-out. I am happy that DH puts out the garbage when he finds it full and replaces the bag. But I also try to prevent situations where I am tempted to hit him over the head with a skillet.

amandasplit - my recycling is under the sink (a 30 inch cabinet) which is to the immediate left of the pull-out trash. Glass and plastic on the left (another white trash can), paper on the right (bin from Ikea). I would have loved another pull-out system for recycling but couldn't give up the space nor could I find the right under-the-sink system so I just made one myself. This set-up is working wonderfully for us.

wi-sailorgil - I agree with Ginny20 - even in a small space, a trash pull-out system is fantastic if you can fit it in!

Everyone seems happy with their trash pullouts and I was planning on putting one in myself...but does anyone find the can to be too small? It seems like you'd have to empty the garbage once a day (OK, that's exaggerating but still).