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Trash and recycling locations

last year

Our current kitchen trash is in a small foot pedal can. It serves as the main trash for the downstairs.

When we redo the kitchen, my initial thought was to put the trash in a pull-out between the prep sink and fridge, but my concern is that people who need to throw things away will get in the way of the person prepping. That already happens now to some extent and I think the proposed layout makes the problem worse.

Where would you put the trash?

The recycling I was planning on putting under the cleanup sink; almost all the recycling we generate happens during the cleanup process so I think that will be ok.

(note that orange in the plan indicates the range)

Comments (4)

mxk3 z5b_MI
last year
Pull-out. Hands down a pull-out. I have mine within steps of the sink, next to the dishwasher.
Isaac thanked mxk3 z5b_MI
marmiegard_z7b
last year
I’m not good at reading your layout locations so will just make a generic comment.
If the kitchen trash is used by other people than a one/ person cook , and used for random trash( throwing some mail away, paper towels ( i compost mine), it can be more convenient to locate it nearer an end run if possible. That also make it easier for, “oh will you please empty the trash now while I’m starting dinner”.
Kind of like the refrigerator, it’s good if can be accessed without someone having to get up in the middle of things when someone is loading the dishwasher or stirring the sauce.

So I currently have a medium step-on can beside a cabinet run, just a couple feet from sink but essentially next to a pathway zone, so very easy access by anyone helping in kitchen or disposing of trash generated from bring in mail or grocery run. But, we use this trash can only for dry non/ smelly things/- I compost all veggie scraps and parchment paper , and we take smelly wet things directly out to a closed tight- lidded garbage can in garage. Yes, that’s a few extra steps, but for us it means not having to empty and re- bag kitchen trash every day or wipe out a cabinet frequently to avoid smells.
I think I would enjoy a concealed pullout, but if I remodel I’d like it to be in about same place if cabinetry can be extended.

So , just thoughts to consider along with other layout decisions and things you may consider higher priority.

That said, there are always lots of compromises necessary in kitchen layouts. Unlike the movie , few people can have “ everything everywhere all at once”!
Or, you may feel you generate a lot of drippy kitchen trash nearest the sink and want the garbage can right there.

Or maybe in your remodel you need a dry/ paper trash can somewhere else for family use.
Isaac thanked marmiegard_z7b
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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.
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We have always had the trash under the sink; the recycling lived in another room. For the reno, I was planning to use a separate 18" cab for a recycling pullout, and keep the trash under the sink; to make enough room for the 18 cab, however, I had to go down to a 27" sink cab. GW posters convinced me that a better use of space would be to use a 36" sink cab, and put both trash and recycling under that cab. To that end, I got a corner drain. The trash lives in front of the GD, and the recycling pull out will (eventually) go in the open space on the left. As far as getting nudged while at the sink, well, that happens to us, too. Rather than get annoyed, however, we have a saying: "Quit your b1tchin', it's the law of the kitchen!"
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You could do a foldable door arrangement, say if you did three ' leaves' two of them could open one way and the third the other. That will give symmetry when closed still. Like these :. The top one almost looks like a three door one, tho I suspect the far right door opens the wrong way, so I have included a four door version, split evenly but if you imagine, two thirds, one third. Then you could do each door at 12" (3 divided by 36"). That'd give you a 24" aperture for your bin and a single 12" door to the other side.
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Isaac
Original Author
last year
Thanks! I should have added a few details:

We are a family of 4

We don’t generate much trash, and most of it is dry because we compost, but sometimes there is wet trash (chicken bones, etc.).

The compost is in a countertop canister.

We have 2 separate recycling bins, one for paper and one for containers (glass, plastic, and aluminum)

Most of the kitchen trash is generated during prep (plastic wrapping from food containers, etc.)
artemis78
last year
I would put trash/recycling next to or under the main sink--and if it's the main trash for that floor, maybe consider a second smaller pullout elsewhere that doesn't require coming into the kitchen work areas. We have both trash and recycling under the sink in an 18" two-can pullout and love that setup.
Isaac thanked artemis78

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