You are not alone!! I use a large free standing trash can because the space under the sink is just too small. And I have two large trash bins that I use for recycle (one for paper and another for cans, plastic, and glass). Your inspiration photo looks just perfect. Better to go a little bigger just to be safe, I think.

I do not like the set up with the drawer on top....I am deciding now a garbage layout and have a post also. The manufacturer I am using (Tuscan Hills - Costco), has several options....an 8.75 gallon garbage if you get the drawer on top. They also have a 12.5 gallon if you get a full cabinet height garbage with no drawer. I will only go with the NO drawer option because I only want to use standard 13 gallon kitchen bags (Forceflex brand from Costco). Anything else to me is too small for me and useless. I am also only going with a 15" wide cabinet and ONE large can. We always bring our recyclables outside and put them into the large cans provided by the county and never store them inside. We refuse to clean them out because that actually wastes more valuable resources...water. So outside they go. We typically fill one 13 gallon bag each day for a family of 4 that gets dumped each night after dinner. I need a large can.

We redid our kitchen 5 years ago and put in a double pull-out. Right after we finished the recycling requirements/pick-up changed in our district. Fortunately our prep sink is in a corner cabinet with nothing in it and it is right beside our pull-out so we just put in a couple of extra containers under the prep sink for the other recycling. Long answer to say, if we were redoing our kitchen now I would put in the quad with no question.

Too small:

In our city, we have garbage, recycling, return for refund (pop & wine bottles), and soon to be compost pickup.

The current house has a swing out under the sink for garbage, and then a pull out each for returnables, recycling, and dog food.

The new house has 2 double pull outs. I'll probably still add in the swing out for the garbage, and another pull out for the dog food.

Stellaalto - I'm so glad I'm not alone! You understand!

Matthew - our plan is to go with a 27 qt quad, and the drawer on top, where I intend to keep the trash bag rolls. In a 15" cabinet I would definitely go with the no drawer on top as well. I do understand the dilemma it is to decide the best way to store the trash. Isn't that ironic?

blfenton - that would be a nightmare for me if they change the rules. All cabinets already have things assigned to them. On paper for now. But I will have to finalize plans soon. So glad you had the extra space!

Anberm - I never thought of a double pull out. How wide are the cabinets?

Mine are 21" wide, and the cans are in front and behind. I also have a 12" and an 18" cabinet I am thinking about for the dog food.

We have an 18" cabinet with the drawer, and two full-size (35-qt) bins. We use one for trash and one for recycling (mixed) and have to empty both about every other day. Unfortunately because we live in an apartment building, composting is very difficult, so we no longer do it (we did when we lived in a house with the trash cans right outside). We keep pot holders and mitts in the drawer, which is near the cooktop. Our current one looks like the top picture, in our previous home, we had one that looked like the bottom picture.

we have mixed recycling, trash, and compost.

We only have a double with the city cans in the garage. We use a plastic bag for trash(nothing smelly) and paper grocery for recycles.

When composting came along- I was a bit stumped- we always did some but now almost everything goes into compost. I could visualize icky smells and fruit flies. Problem solved - we put the compost bin in the freezer . We use the city compost bags in the bin. I just pull out the bag and drop into the city compost bin on trash day.

I think this is an issue that is so very individualized based on the type of items you purchase and the packaging it comes in, the type of recycling you have available (mixed or requires sorting), where you keep your curb-side containers and how convenient they are to access and other issues I probably haven't thought of.

We purchase very little packaged food so one of these inside our sink cabinet is plenty for items that actually go into the trash. I double-up two plastic shopping bags and then have a big, fat rubberband that secures the bags so they don't slip. We typically empty it every day or two. Usually not because of it being full but to eliminate any odors the garbage might start causing. Easy to do as the garbage can is in the garage with the cars so we're headed that way.

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We have a cabinet in our laundry/pantry room, right next to kitchen, for all recycling. It holds two taller kitchen bins. Probably about the size that sjhockeyfan shows above. These might be emptied into the big bin in the garage once or twice a week. It really varies. When I'm prepping items that have recyclable packaging, like cans, I just put them on the counter and walk them to the recycling bins when done.

I have a small kitchen so I don't want to lose storage cabinets for garbage/recycling needs so this works well for us. I realize this might not work for everyone but just thought I'd throw it out there as another idea. YMMV.

Like sjhockeyfan325, we have an 18-inch wide trash pullout with a drawer above. It holds two bins that use a 13-gallon bag.

We use the drawer above as our "junk drawer". (As I tell people - everyone has a junk drawer, so plan its location rather than letting chance determine where it ends up!)

We have mixed recycling, so we put all recyclables into one bin (cans/bottles/paper/plastic/newspapers/magazines/catalogs/junk mail). We also fill both approximately every two days. If we put large containers in the recycle bin, then we fill it every day - but we put the large containers (milk bottles, etc.) directly into the huge recycle bin the county gave us.

Ditto what buehl said about large containers - the bin fills up awfully fast if you put in empty gallon milk bottles, Snapple bottles, etc. We still do it, we just have to empty it more often when we do. Our recycling is also "mixed" - everything goes in one bin.

Mixed recycling - if only. We need a butlers pantry to hold all our containers. We have newspapers, cardboard, compost, garden/grass, tin cans, general garbage and as of this month glass is now being accepted in , of course, it's own container.. These ALL have their own bins. And then lightbulbs and batteries go to a separate recycling center. And then there is the fact that we have 3 different garbage trucks on garbage day picking this stuff up. Environmentally friendly on the one hand and not so much on the other.

Got it. We have to return our cans and bottles so our recycling qty is much lower.

Sjhockeyfan- I like how it would be easier to manage the cans in the system shown in the second picture. But I figured the trash bags would hold better in the system shown in the first. What was your experience?

a2gemini - never thought of putting the compost in the freezer. How very interesting.

funkycamper - I so wish your system would work in our family! My husband wanted to get a trash compactor. Our trash only comes by once a week. So he wanted to deal with the little cube. But I sad no to the trash compactor in the kitchen. Extra $$ for something I have no experience with, and not sure I would like it. I could, but I just don't know. Made me nervous.

Buehl- darn. The junk drawer. I guess it would just be proper if it went along with the trash bags above the trash PO. ;)

blfenton - that sounds like a lot of work! You have to have an elaborate trash system at home.

tempe110 - OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Y'all are gonna think I'm crazy, but I love the big cahoona big daddy TPO in your picture. And I can only think, I need two of those at least. Hahahahahaha. Just wish I had the space....

I'm in the minority, maybe even a loner. I am getting a very small PO with two very small bins, one for trash, one for recycling. I cannot stand the idea, and sometimes the reality, of smelly trash and recycling in the kitchen. I would rather empty both once or twice a day - more if necessary - into the curbside bins that are not far away in the garage. I used to keep a 13 gal tall under the sink but it was smelly if I waited long enough to fill it and a waste of plastic liner if I didn't wait. If I didn't want the convenience of having the receptacles right by the prep area where I initially generate the trash I would just keep trekking to the garage.

I have mixed recycling now (a real time and space saver). For the most part I do not rinse out the recyclables even though I am supposed to. I think it's an insane waste of water.

You're not alone, 12crumbles. Our trash is the size of a plastic shopping bag and is emptied every day or two. More often if it's something smelly.

I do rinse the recycling, as directed by the recycling company, because they will throw out dirty, non-rinsed containers and put it in the trash. That totally negates the idea of recycling. Maybe your service doesn't do this? But I also do this so there isn't a smell.

As for milk jugs and other plastic containers...am I the only one that rinses them and then stomps on them so they take up less space? I stomp on anything crushable.

FWIW, we have the smallest curbside garbage can allowed by my service and the largest recycling bin (just one, we don't have to sort). Our garbage can is never full. Our recycling is sometimes full but quite often, not. We have pick-up every two weeks.

Both the curbside bins are in the garage so I don't want smell even in the garage. Hence, why the garbage is put into plastic bags which are then tied off.

At the moment, my former empty-nest is now a family of five. Four adults and a child. The amount of recycling and compost items we generate has gone up but the garbage really hasn't. We avoid non-recyclable packaging whenever possible.

If I had a kitchen with enough space, I'd definitely consider the quad. The recycling rules keep changing around here. Even if I didn't need four units now, I might in the future. Right now, my recycling bins are in the garage, right outside the door from the kitchen. It's not a big deal to walk a few steps to put things in them, but in the trash pullout would be so much easier, and in the winter, warmer. You could also customize one of the sections to contain a smaller compost keeper, like alvmusick did (scroll down through the pictures to see it). I would have loved that.

Brooklyn Galley reveal with compost keeper.

Ginny20 - that is one well designed kitchen! I used to live in NYC and my kitchen was that size, except only one wall was utilized. Basically no counter space whatsoever. She thought of everything! Her solution for the compost was great! Thank you for sharing!

My trash and mixed recycling are under my blanco silgranite 1 3/4 diamond sink. Both the cabinet designer and the contractor said I would not be able to have a tall trash under there but it works great. The head carpenter carefully cut only part of the back of the left drawer box down so the garbage disposal would fit under the sink. You can see it in the attached photo. It really was the best place in my size kitchen. We empty them about every other day. (If I didn't rinse and smash milk jugs etc like funkycamper, we would have to empty the recycle more frequently.).

We have two pull outs, each holding 13 gallon trash cans. The one on the left of the microwave is for regular trash, and recyclables go on the right. The KD first had one pull-out with two smaller cans (as pictured in previous posts), but we're used to the 13 gallon size.

12crumbles, I actually called our recycling company to ask - they said it would be nice if we rinsed, but it isn't required.

Tea4all - wow, so great that he was able to cut that back piece for plumbing. And you still have room for for some items on the back.

Pattisue72 - what a neat idea! Your cabinets are gorgeous BTW.

houserookie, I love that inspiration photo. I wish I had room in my kitchen for a recycling center that big. (Mine is half that size.) I say go for it! :)

tea4all....never saw a garage pull out under a sink cabinet. I have a tiny kitchen, so for me, this is the most productive use of space. Can you send more photos....curious what the space looks like under the sink for that to work, what depth/size sink are you using? They are two separate pull outs? More photos would help. What brand cabinets? Love it.

Matthewstephanie, they are 2 separate pull outs. Here is a picture of under the sink and a link to my Blanco sink. Custom Wood Products in St. Mary's, Ks built my cabinets. They were great to work with. Because of forum etiquette, I won't post lots of pictures on houserookie's thread but will gladly send you some directly. Contact me at heartlander11@sbcglobal.net.

Tea4all - please post more pictures here! You have my formal authorization. :)

Houserookie you are so gracious.

Here is my simple setup:. Blanco silgranite sink (under mounted), custom cabinets that just made a box pullout for each trash receptacle, carpenter cut only what was needed out of back/side of box on GD side of sink. Because of the size/arrangement of my kitchen trash/recycling needed to be under my sink. It works like a dream and is a big improvement over the original kitchen. However, if my kitchen were larger, I would have put the trash pullout to the right of the sink (prep area) but I didn't want to lose my big drawers. Buehl shared that locating trash pullout in prep area is wise/most functional.

I found that compromising comes in play with space limitations, budget, and individual's manner of working in the kitchen.

Here is the pic of the cut down side of the pullout.