In our recent kitchen remodel, we put the trash (double pullout) to the right of the sink. We LOVE it. Easy to access for scraping dishes, prep work etc.... BUT, we also have an auxiliary trash that is under the counter directly behind our bar table top. Didn't plan on the last one, but now we couldn't do without it as it is equally handy to have a trash as the edge of the kitchen near the table. If you can fit in both, I recommend it.

Hope this helps.

I agree with MCMesprit--do both if possible. I recently installed a trash pull-out beside the DW, which is left of the sink, in the main prep area. I pull out the bin, sweep in what I don't compost, and I love it! The bin is a single, 10.5x18, with a pull-out shelf installed above.

we are still mid-remodel so can't speak with authority. however, i do know that one of the biggies when we did the remodel was to get the trash closer to the sink. desperate for that. we configured trash, then sink, then dishwasher in a row. bing,bang,boom. i think it will work really well... and i see that's what you had configured in #1.
would it help at all if you cut down just one side of the lazy susan corner cabinet? both sides of the corner do not have to be equal. we did that in order to gain 3 inches and they were a crucial 3 inches for us.

or, if you could configure the drawer #2 so that it slides out TOWARD THE SINK, it wouldn't be as far away-- especially when it is open.

oh, when do all these puzzles end????
-kawh

I agree with the others that if you can do both that would work great. We are still in remodeling stage so I can't vouch for how I like/dislike yet, but we put a 15" trash pull out to the left of the sink (DW is on the right), and we also put a 15" pullout on the island near our seating. I have a feeling I will love having the extra trash close to the island which will also serve as our dining table. Clearing off the "table" will be more convenient, and I will have a close trash by the sink where I will do my prep.

I think that I've read quite a few posts on GW where people did not like having their trash far from their sink, but if you have it that way now and it doesn't bother you, then maybe it works for you and go with the larger one in the island :)

Thanks for the replies!

I'll definitely give some thought to having pullouts in both locations. The one by the sink could be a single bin with only trash and I wouldn't have to change the cabinet configuration. The pullout in the island is a double so it could have the recycle bin plus trash.

As for whether it bothers me now or not... right now when I start working in the kitchen I grab a plastic grocery bag and set it on the island. As I work I throw the trash into the bag. When I'm done cleaning up afterward I tie it up and toss it out. This actually works exceedingly well, with one exception. Sometimes there's only a few pieces of trash in the bag and I leave it sitting on the island until I have more to throw away rather than transfer it to the faraway bin. Having nearby trash pullouts will solve that, but I'm also afraid having large bins will put me back in the habit of not tossing the trash frequently enough, especially if I get two of them. But that's another topic.

You are prepping on your island I assume? I've got say that if you are only going to have one trash then the KD's location is obsurd - it is more convenient for people strolling by than for the cook! I agree if you can have two that would be great!

My kitchen footprint is the same as yours only my sink is where your cooktop is and my cooktop is on the island. I prep in between the fridge and sink. In my recent remodel I would have like to have moved the trash (it is in your location 1), but I couldn't since we were keeping our existing cabinets. I even tried for a pull out under the sink, but it wouldn't fit. So I make do. I have a compost bin where I prep which helps a great deal. I also keep the trash pulled out and accessible while cooking. I'm a pretty good shot from my prep area!

Also, take a look at Rev-A-Shelf. They make great after market solutions for cabinets and i think I might remember a 15" double bin. They would be smaller bins, but perhaps a good compromise.

Best of luck! Make sure you get what you want and need. You will be living there; not the KD!

Well, since you asked....
I have a long galley kitchen and double-bin trash drawer is at one end, next to the prep sink and easy for "outside" access. Very good for messy prep work, although if I've got a lot of prep, I still put a big bowl on the counter (like Rachael Ray) to dump everything in first.
The clean-up sink and dishwasher are on the other side, at the other end of the galley, and I stressed out about scraping dishes, neighbors with a split layout said it was too far, etc. So we made back-up plans to have a pull-out under-sink trash bin over there.
But actually, it's not that big a deal. We scrape all the dishes onto one and it turns out to be one trip across the kitchen. If I ever get around to composting, this will be even less of an issue.
We access the trash drawer many, many, many more times each day for prep and recycling than we do for cleanup (this might be more of a reflection on my tendency to procrastinate, or as I like to think, my excellent cooking means nothing to scrape!)
What worries me about your diagram is that it looks like your refrigerator is across the island from the sink. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but if I'm not, then you're carrying all your fruits and veggies across the island to wash them and then back to the island to prep? I'm a zone person and that determines my trash location.
Just some thoughts. Good luck.

Does your second trash bin have to be built in? We are happy with a two-bin pull-out to the right of our sink on a long island, but that would have been inconvenient for dumping out tea leaves at the range, or other trash generated on the other side of the long island -- too much running around. So we bought one of those handsome, tall and narrow VIP trash bins -- indestructible -- that has little "ears" on it -- easily moved from the left side of the range, where it lives, to anywhere in the kitchen where someone might want to set up and do some prep work, including to the kitchen table. If there's room.

Dave, I have a very small U-shape and didn't know about trash pullouts when I redid it 3 years ago. I found GW after my remodel was begun. So my trash is in a can outside the entire kitchen area! So easy for everyone to get to...except the cook.

My DW is to the right of the sink and a corner pot cabinet to the left, no room for a separate trash cab. BUT...if I was doing it over I would put small pullout pails under the sink and move the detergents elsewhere. Saw a nice skinny pullout rack in one kitchen that held detergents right next to the sink. Can't do it now because we have a garbage disposal there. :(

So dripping chicken papers and such are carried across a fair distance from the sink. It sucks. A full size trash under there isn't possible, but a small "garbage pail" would have been great.

HTH

I'm no expert, but it seems to me your trash in #2 pulls out in the wrong direction. I am sure your KD put it like that to avoid interfering with your DW when open. Could you reconfigure the island cabinets and put the trash pull out on the island, closer to the stove wall, pulling into the sink aisle (which GWers refer to as the trench, I think). Nice layout. Good luck!

In our old kitchen, i had the trash built in closer to the fridge and eating area. As a compensation, I put a small pull out trash under my sink.

Big mistake. To use the undersink trash while at the sink, I had to open the cabinet that I was standing in front of, and then pull out the trash. I NEVER used it. I did what Rachel Ray used to do on 30 second meals - id have a small trash bwol right where i prepped and dump it when i was done. PITA

This time, I have my fridge, then my large trash pull out(a big round black plastic trash can like youd put on the curb), then my sink, then my d/w. We love it. It's so important to have trash really handy, it helps keep the space tidy and clean. And no matter how thick your marble slab or fancy the faucet, a dirty kithen looks like heck.

My configuration works great. Setup left to right ... peninsula prep area/ cutting board cabinet/trash & recycle pullout/dishwasher/sink. I keep a compost bowl on the counter and use that a lot during prep.

I've had trash on my mind lately!

We are still laying our kitchen. We originally had the U with island and put the recycling where your KD did, coming out of the island. For us, it makes sense because we have the command center, pantry and entry from mud room all on that side, so it'll be very convenient when we come in with our mail (paper recycling will be in the drawer above the 2 cans), groceries (we buy a lot of bulk, so we'll put the groceries on the island then break things down to put either in the pantry or frig. The island trash is half way between). Also, my boys do cleanup and I'd rather the trash is out of the main through-way of the kitchen.

We have since switched to a two island design, but are keeping the recycling center in the island.

Another suggestion we considered was a recycling center in the lazy susan (the ones we saw used 3 containers). Would that be more convenient to you?

Here is a link that might be useful: Recycling

ICF, why is it I couldn't use the back button to get off of your blog? That's a bit irritating. The 2 bin system you're considering is similar to the one we have (with a Knape & Vogt toe opener vs. foot). We had an interior drawer built to accommodate bin bags.

Lots of great replies. Thanks!

Yes, I do most of my prep work at the island with my back to the cooktop. If the trash were in the #2 position I'd still need to use a temporary bag or bowl and then empty it into the trash later. I do see where having the recycle bin there is actually more convenient though.

Yes, the fridge is directly across from the sink. Aside from moving the dishwasher I'm actually keeping the same layout I already have. There's really no other good place for the fridge. The cabinet right next to it is the tall oven/microwave center so it leaves me with lots of contiguous counter space.

Unfortunately there's really no place to set a free standing trash bin. Right now I have a small bin under the desk in the upper left area but that's going to be built out with pantry units instead.

I have considered that I could place a small pail under the sink later if the single pullout at #2 doesn't work out. I'm okay with small trash bins because it means I have to empty them more frequently, before they start smelling. In my current kitchen I can't fit any trash under the sink because it's jam packed with an R/O unit, disposal, and plumbing. My new sink will be a single bowl which eliminates some of the plumbing and I'm not sure if I'll add an R/O or not.

Right now the island has a drawer unit that opens toward the cooktop and a regular lower unit that opens toward the outside. It all works well because the two cabinets are placed back to back to form a 3'x4' island. Rotating some or all of the cabinets so they open toward the sink and fridge wouldn't work as well and space would be lost. That is something I put some though into already. FWIW I only have 36" aisles so having the trash bin pull out into the sink aisle directly behind the sink wouldn't work so well either. I am considering making the island 6" narrower so I'd have 39" aisles instead. It's especially a problem on the fridge side now because it's a full size. I'll be replacing it with CD though.

FWIW, here's the before kitchen

{{!gwi}}


{{!gwi}}

Here's the desk and pantry closet in the upper left of the drawing. You can see where the trash currently sits. I'm going to knock out the closet so it's all one space and install two 24" pantry cabinets with pullouts flanking a 36" upper/lower cabinet. There won't be any space there for a trash bin. (yea!)


{{!gwi}}

Natal, do you mean you clicked on the link to our blog, and then hit back and it didn't take you back to this forum? I just tried that and didn't have any problem. What happened when you tried? (I would be irritated too).

And yes! I like your trash cabinet! Do you love the toe opener? We haven't priced it out, but I know I would use it a bazillion times a day. Also, if you don't mine my asking, how much did it cost for the custom cab with the extra drawer?

Dave- I am planning on 2 trash pullouts.

One single trash pullout opposite dw and a second double pullout for trash and recyclables near the door to the garage. Second pullout is out of cooking area so I don;t have to worry about people underfoot.

ICF, doesn't matter how many times I hit the back button, I'm stuck on your blog. I have to reopen the Kitchen forum to get back to where I was.

Can't tell you how much I LOVE the toe opener! It can be difficult to use if you're wearing thick shoes ... dh sometimes has that problem so he just pulls the door open those times. An opener that presses downward would have been better, but this was the best we could come up with and we almost didn't get it. For some unknown reason Knape & Vogt has discontinued it.

ICF, just tried it using Safari (instead of Firefox) and there was no problem. Must be a FF issue on my computer.