I hope you won't mind my piggybacking onto your thread, shmoop. I logged in just now to post a related question, and found your thread right at the top.

We are replacing some appliances in our kitchen. One of them is a very old, decrepit, disgusting trash compacter. We never use the compacting function, and I don't see the point of it. We empty the trash every day, and it doesn't even fill up in that time. I am reluctant to put in another trash compactor, at a cost of at least $500. I'd like to have a pull-out trash cabinet, but I don't know what I could put on the front that would look all right. I am sure you are all going to be disgusted, but I have a 1984 kitchen with almond formica cabinets with dark wood edging. I hate it, but we are doing bathrooms and other urgent projects and we won't get to the kitchen for a while. At some point we will probably do a facelift, with new cabinet fronts (the insides are in good shape), and at that point we could probably do a matching cabinet front, but I need an interim solution.

I don't know how people do multiple remodels, either, shmoop. Even the relatively minor things we are doing are driving me crazy.

I was unwilling to give up precious cabinet space for a trash pullout since the kitchen was not big. What we did was to turn the 2 doors that are right below the sink into 2 drawers instead. They still look like doors, but are really pullouts that hold a tall kitchen trash can on each side (one for recycling), and there is still plenty of space for cleaning supplies. Also, I like being able to easily pull the can out and move it where I want.

IÂve also lived with trash compacters and I am not a fan.

I have to say, the pull-out trash bin (double. One for trash, one for recyclables) IS my favorite cabinet. We were not going to get it, but our GC talked us into it. The placement is between the sink and the stove. In the past, I have had: trash under the sink, step on can, and a trash compactor. This wins hands down.

For one thing, you don't need to move away from the sink if you are washing up and need to drop something in the can. The placement should be where it is natural to do your chopping (in my opinion). I really can't say enough good things about it. I use under the sink to store cleaning supplies, the bin of dog food and a towel rail.

marisany, you can retrofit your cabinet with a pull-out (think of it as putting a drawer into your existing "hole"). You will need a cabinet front to attach (if your cabinet is a standard size, you should be able to order one that is similar in style to your existing cabinets and that shouldn't cost much--certainly much less than a new trash compactor).

Rubyfig, do you have a double sink or a single? We'll have a double, with two doors underneath, so I don't think getting to the trash will require anyone to leave the sink. Maybe step to the side, but it's a tight kitchen and people will have to accommodate each other.
What *was* the deal with trash compactors? Congratulations, your trash is now . . . smaller!

When you think about it, trash can takes the same space regardless of where you put it. The issues are how you access it and what you do with the space a freestanding can would have occupied. If you arrange your plumbing well, a pull-out can be placed under the sink where a freestanding is typically set, making the second issue a nonissue. Some aftermarket units can have the door attached so the whole thing pulls straight out with a simple tug on the handle (door not on hinges).

However, the waste you're thinking of comes because most people put it in another cabinet space and also don't utilize that freed-up undersink space as well as it could be--which is exactly what happens in most kitchens anyway. Since you're planning now and can do a little tweaking to make it work, how having your cabinetmaker make nice pullout drawers or otherwise modern storage cabinets for under the sink like the rest of your kitchen? Put the chemicals and cleaning utensils you seldom use up high somewhere else.

Mine won't fit under the current sink - it's too large. We typically fill it up in 2 days. So it sits at the end of my kitchen under the long window, and stuff gets all over the white blinds and window ledge. Yuck. I can't wait till it's under the sink. I know, I should have just gotten one with a lid, but I find those get gross too.

Love, love, love our dbl trash pullout...One can for trash and the other for the recycle that no longer sits beside the sink on the counter...YAY!

We've had both the under sink trash and a trash compactor, which doesn't make the garbage smaller to carry, but, certainly makes it heavier. Compared to the undersink can, it is far easier to pull it out to put things straight down in, and also nicer to empty and to clean around the area when doing that task. No crawling under the sink to clean up what fell out or was accidentally thrown off the side. (Am I the only one who's had to pull moldy old trash out from the back of the cabinet?) Our bins are larger than what would fit under the sink.

I was planning to put a small trash under the prep sink, but haven't, because I so much prefer using the pullout, even if I have to walk around the end of the island to do so. Our pullout is in the island across from the main sink, but also handy to one of the island prep areas and the stove..so it's easy to reach from almost all work areas. When I clean off the island counter it's nice to pull out the trash and sweep it right in.

Thank you, rubyfig! I will look into doing just that. Another idea I had was to take the "cabinet fronts" that are over the existing cooktop vent (they pull out at an angle) and use one of them on the front of the pull-out trash cabinet. I would then replace the vent with a new one that is all stainless steel. I was thinking of a microwave/vent combo, but learned today that a cabinet is needed above it.

I had a stand alone large foot-pedal to open trash can across the room from the sink. Yuck! There always seemed to be a trail of drips along the path no matter how careful we tried to be. The recycle was in a huge laundry-type hamper in another spot; unsightly and always seemed to be overflowing.

Now, I have a hands free, foot-pedal opening cabinet with trash/recycle bins right next to the sink. I can have the drippiest mess in my hands and with the foot-pedal opening I never have drips anywhere, not on a handle, not on the floor or down the drawer. The recyle stays contained & it is so easy to drop recycle/garbage into the correct bin.

This IS definitely my most favourite gizmo of my newly renovated kitchen.

Smoop, I have a large single sink (33" cabinet, 26" deep sink), but when I had the trash under the sink it was a double. I don't have a very big kitchen, but seriously, I don't think I would give up that double-pull out for much else. Best used 18" of cabinets in my opinion.

Last house I had garbage can sitting open out of the way. This time I struggled with the decision because it never seemed to bother me having it out in the open. But I decided to have just a single can pull-out. I love it. I don't think I would have had room for a double--I just keep my recycling in the garage, but I sure do love the single.

I currently have our trash under the sink - and I'm always surprised when guests ask me where it is, isn't under the since the universal place for trash? (Well, it once was, probably not so much anymore).

I am using precious cabinet space for a double pull out partly because of the recycle issue - partly because the under the sink solution was not great. Often I would take the can out and place it by my peninsula when I was prepping vegetables, or cracking eggs, etc. So, in the new kitchen it is part of my prep area vs. next to the sink. Everything in my kitchen is only 2-3 steps away anyway, so not a big deal.

Regarding replacing your trash compactor - what if you get something radically different for the front - like a white laminate? I assume that the TC had an appliance front (stainless? Black? White?), so putting something completely different won't look any different than the compactor? I got the PO trash with a drawer, but for your temporary trash PO, I would suggest without drawer so again it looks to be the utility it is vs. trying to match with current cabinets.

In my old house I had a freestanding garbage can with a foot pedal. The foot pedal broke, the lid and rim were always grungy and the side of the cabinet adjacent had sticky remnants of missed 3-point shots. But I didn't want to take space away from my island, and there wasn't room under the sink. Usually my recyclables were on the counter, in the sink, etc. and as you can see there wasn't much space there...

In my old kitchen I had a trash compactor near my main sink and DW, and also used a free-standing trash can in my prep area. I carried recyclables out to bins in the garage. Hated the trash compactor-- I always had to think about what I should or shouldn't throw in there. For example, I wouldn't want to throw chicken skin into a fresh bag (it would start to smell after a day or two, long before the bag was full), or watermelon rinds, which liquify into a disgusting mess. The freestanding pail was also a pain because the thieving dog always got into it.

Now I have a 12" trash pullout near my clean-up sink (holds a 13 gallon pail), and two 8 gallon pullouts under my prep sink for trash and recycling. I love them, but the thwarted dog does not.

I agonized over the trash location as well. I've always had freestanding trashcans sitting somewhere - usually in the way - on the floor of my kitchen and have always hated them. I've never been able to find one that I liked or that matched my kitchen, so I've always just had to settle for whatever I could find.

I can't stand to have my trash can in the pantry - it just seems incongruous to have my trash in there with my food. I don't like the idea of having it under the sink because I don't like having two functions in the same place.

Why agonize? I loathed the idea of having to open the trash with my potentially dirty hands and those free standing cans always had a hands free option.

Enter the GW Kitchen forum where I learned about the foot pedal for trash cabinets and the whole thing was decided. I absolutely LOVE having my trash hidden in a cabinet. No one has to move out of the way in order for someone else to access it.

Yes, guests have to be told where it is -- but how is that different than anyone else's kitchen? In any kitchen that doesn't have a freestanding trash cans out in the open, aren't guests always having to ask? I never know if it's under the sink or in the pantry or in the adjoining utility room, etc.

To review: I love my pull out trash because it's:
-- Hidden
-- Accessible
-- Hands free
-- In a convenient and acceptable (to me) location

I have a narrow butterfly lid step can which is great--it opens easily, keeps smells in, and is tested raccoon-proof. We originally selected what we considered a ridiculously overpriced can to thwart our cat. And it fit perfectly in our LAST kitchen. For those of you who get sticky trash, I'm one of you. And I don't like the idea of enclosing it in cabinetry that can't be hauled outside for a hosing every once in a while. But I don't have any place to put it after the remodel so it's going in a pullout with a pedal.

I always have to explain to guests what can is recycling anyway, so telling them which cabinet won't be bad. Our house came with a compactor which we used for (less stinky) recyclables and it worked fine for that (until it jammed up completely). So maybe we can handle built-in garbage with two bins.

We'll see...

We love our trash pull outs and we have a small kitchen but would sacrifice again the cabinet space. Hated seeing that ugly can and had no where to put it that it would be out of the way. KD tried talking me out of it because of losing the cabinet space but I didn't give in and glad we didn't. One of my favorite things also...

I would never go back to a free standing trash can. We have a small kitchen, but were able to fit a trash pull out in a 12" wide cabinet. (Rev-A-Shelf) The shallow drawer above it holds wraps. LOVE it! You can always stick a post-it note on it to ID it for guests, if you like.

-Babka

Trash pullout in action while cooking dinner last night:

{{!gwi}}

Sink to the left, prep area(just out of view) to the right. Really handy in a two-cook (and not very large) kitchen.

Marisany, The repositioning of the cabinet front might work (it depends on the size of that front). Take a look at what is available in terms of the size(s) of aftermarket pull-outs (I know rev-a-shelf and Hafele make them. I can't think of any others at the moment, but I am sure these 2 are not the only ones) and compare that with the size of your existing opening. On the inside of the cabinet, you may need some 1x2s (or something) added so that the hardware has something to mount to, or you may be fine depending on your existing cabinet). You will also need a way of extending the toe-kick if your compactor goes to the floor (either a facade, or a little platform built out of plywood). Really, I think it would be just as easy to have the door front and the toe-kick stained to match your existing cabinets in one go than to try to fiddle with another cabinet front. Good luck!

I used to have a trash can under the sink. Now I have a pull-out below the sink - it was an Ikeafans modification, which I talked my GC into doing. I LOVE it. It's a half-depth drawer, to avoid the pipes at the back.
One of those simple things that made a big difference.

My mother has had a bin mounted on the sink cabinet door, with a string which automatically opens the lid when you open the door, since about 1970. Still works fine.

I have a single-bin pull-out trash can. Love it! Wouldn't go back to the trash can on the floor out in the open. Blech. I didn't have enough room for a double-bin pull-out, and our recyclables go directly into the bin in the garage anyway, so single-bin was just fine, and I feel it's an efficient use of cabinet space. Mine uses the Rubbermaid 8-gal. trash can which is easy to remove and clean. We empty kitchen trash every night to the garage, so the 8-gal. is big enough for my family of 4.

My favorite part about the trash pull-out was also mentioned by Morton5--the garbage is now no longer available to the pets. When the garbage can was on the floor, the dog, usually well-behaved, but egged on by the cats, would simply apply her shoulder to the can, tip it over, and there'd be a free-for-all. That is a mess I won't have to see again.

Our trash and recycling was on our basement stairwell landing, which meant whatever we had to carry ALL THE WAY to the cans, inevitably dripped ALL THE WAY to the cans. Also, because we often would just lean over the few steps to the landing to toss the garbage into the bin, mess would splatter onto the wall. I was forever scrubbing it. It was disgusting!

In our new kitchen, we have installed the double can pullout, and I can hardly wait to use it! During the remodel, the trash and recycling has been just sitting in the middle of the remodel. Yuck.