Trash compactors, anyone?

[sudsmaster]

Now, I have to say I have never used a trash compactor, and have no interest in acquiring one.

However one of my favorite neighbors was talking to me recently and she was mourning the loss of her trash compactor. I'm not sure the brand or why it failed, but it counded like she needs a new one. I think she wants one that is free-standing and doesn't require hacking into a counter.

Any recommendations?

 

[bradfordwhite]

There has never been a plethora of choices in the market as they all do the same thing.
 
My parents put one in their 1985 built new home.  A GE.  They replaced it with another GE in about 2014.  GE only makes one model, in a couple of colors/finishes.  None of which are free-standing.  

 

They are not clean as the masher will compact stuff and if there is anything "oozy" in there, that ooze will get onto the face of the masher plate and even squirt out the edges and get on top of the masher.  Unless you clean that up, which is tricky, the mess will stay there and do what it will do with next batches of oozy stuff. 

 

For teens (and a percentage of adults) that enjoy cheap thrills, putting things like glass or things that are under pressure in can cause interesting results.  

 

LOL.  My mother who was one of those simple minded, but well intentioned, people would put food in there.  If she made something like a large pot roast or a ham and only half was eaten, she saved it in the frig but forgot about it, then found it a month later, she'd just dump all the contents of the pan in there.  As I said about ooze above.  

 

Yeah, not recommended for people who live a clean life.  This is a fantasy appliance for people from the 1950s who had simple minded ideas that don't work with reality.  It's not sanitary which is what people from that era thought it would provide.

 

It's a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">waste</span> of money, imo.  I'm surprised SanFran hasn't banned them with their zero-waste initiative that is enviable. 

 

 

 

[bradfordwhite]

Oh, and don't forget about the necessary special trash comp. bags.... Made of a very heavy plastic and costing a ridiculous amount.  The bags will probably never break down because they are so thick.

 

Just a reminders that you can buy lots of garbage bags at Dollar tree for $1 and if you get plastic bags when you shop, they also work great for garbage and they are free.
 

 

[chachp]

For recycling....

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">We use ours all the time but for nothing "wet" or "oozy" only for recyclables.  If the container has something in it I rinse it out before putting it in the compactor.  When it comes time to empty we put that "brick" in the recycling bin.  We've never put anything wet in there I can't imagine how it would smell over time.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Ours is a Kitchen Aid and I think about twenty years old.  We don't have it in the kitchen we have it in the utility room.  In the kitchen we have a pull out drawer that holds the trash can and the recyclables can.  </span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">A few months back it jammed and we thought it was time to replace it.  In the few weeks I didn't have one I couldn't believe how much room all that stuff took in the recycle bin and what a pain it was to deal with.  I messed with the compactor again and it started working.  I don't know why it jammed but I do know I wouldn't want to be without one.</span>

 

[sudsmaster]

Thanks for the info.

In our town we have a garbage service that provides three bins: gray for household waste, blue for recyclables like cardboard, paper, and plastic with recycle symbols on them, and green for yard waste (branches, leaves, prunings, etc). I rarely if ever run out of room in the gray bin, which is the smallest of the three. So I was a bit surprised that my neighbor finds she needs to use a compacter. Maybe I'll just let the subject drop, LOL.

 

[jakeseacrest]

I've had a Kenmore compactor since 2003. It was used as my primary kitchen trash can so all food went down the disposal and any packages or cans got rinsed out. I lived alone and it would take me over 2 weeks to change the bag. I never had a smell. Since 2016 there is 3 of us and our complex has a dumpster. We only use the compactor for dry items and everything else goes in a regular Hefty bag. It saves us so many trips outside. We frequently use the "Extra Pac" button to extend the bag life which sometimes can go to almost a month. I think I would replace the compactor if it died.

Wal Mart has the paper bags for about $8 or $9 for a pack of 10.

 

[petek]

We had one when we lived out of town in the country with no garbage pickup and it worked great. It was a 2nd hand Kenmore (WP) portable but fit nicely to the side of a counter, not in the way and looked almost built in. It was avocado colored but I spray painted it white to match, beneath the front panel were 2 more panels with different colors incl a white one. We only put dry stuff in. There was an aerosol fragrance can in there to keep down any stink but didn't need that. When we moved I gave it to our neighbors who were happy to have it.

 

[appnut]

These devices are designed/intended to work in tandem with the garbage disposal.

 

[tolivac]

Don't have or need a home compactor.Save the "compacting" for the trash truck or the large compactor at the dump I go to.Trash truck compactors are far more powerful than home ones and compact waste to a greater density.Like 900-over 1000Lbs per cubic yard of waste.Go on YouTube and you can watch trsh truck compactors in use!In one video they throw a piano in a New Way Cobra compactor-crushed the piano to kindling!!

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Hiring a compacting truck? How does this work?

Well, my garbage needs to go a diet, right down to taking the bag out of the garbage can... Durn thing is so wide, I can barely carry it through the house without getting stuck in the doorway taking it out...

But while in the can I have to frequently tell wife and kid to mash the trash with a heavy object I generally keep at the top of the heap to serve as a lid, just to see paper and used dental floss fail to go under it...

So I can easily see where a compactor will have its place... Why take a couple bags out of what's merely one or two trash cans just to out them back in, no matter how worthy hiring a truck to make the bags worth putting back in, then taking back out for the garbage pickup?

-- Dave

 

[tolivac]

Since I live out of town-I would have to pay for a trash truck to collect my waste.To subsribe to the trash pickup-its about $400 per year.Taking the trash to the "dump" transfrer station they call it-is free.They have 3 compactors that are for cans and bottles,another for cardbaord,and another for trash.There are dumpsters for appliances,electronics,and yard waste.

 

[gredmondson]

I am a fan of trash compactors--especially if you have a lot of trash and taking it out is a big chore, say you have to go down a lot of stairs or a long ways. They do need to be cleaned, though. When I need to replace mine, I look for a used one on craigslist. The last time I checked, new prices were a surprise; they are expensive.

 

[rinso]

We once bought a home that already had a Kenmore/KitchenAid trash masher in it. We quickly learned that wet goes in the disposal, dry in the masher. Even so, it was a pain to clean, and required a trip to Sears for replacement bags. I do have to say that it worked very well, but when we had a new home built, we opted our of purchasing another one.

 

[petek]

Part of what drove compactor popularity in some suburban area's was that their trash collection companies charged by the bag or can.. hence what may have taken 3 green bags is now one

 

[mattl]

Comes down to lifestyle...

I have a small trash container under my sink, I can easily go 2 weeks without pulling the bag out.  Rarely buy canned goods, mostly fresh or frozen vegetables, meat wrappers get well rinsed, and what can go down the disposal does.  We have weekly trash pick up, factored into our property taxes, and i can go a month without taking out trash.

 

Decades ago we had a trash compactor, was interesting but not really practical for us long term. have no idea what happened to  it which is  weird because I have a great recall of all our other appliances.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I lived for a couple of years in condo complex where each unit had a compactor. I was the only person in my court that used one. Maybe people did not want to spend money on the special bags for the Kenmore, but I knew it was for dry, well rinsed containers and the disposer was for wet stuff. I would go about a month before I had to put out the little rectangular bundle on trash day. It looked so neat at the end of my sidewalk compared to the plastic bags brimming with disposable diapers and food waste so I guess people were too stupid to use their disposers, too. It was another case of pearls before swine.

 

[qsd-dan]

The last trash compacter I saw was in the early 90's. Thinking back now, it seems like their popularity mostly died out with that decade. Most areas provide a recycling program now so I don't see much need for one anymore.....especially at those prices.

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

They are good for crushing cans for recycling, but I don't use that many canned products anymore. Maybe like beer cans after a party.

 

[reactor]

trash Compactor

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some do not like their trash compactors, others swear by them. I am the latter and not the former. Unfortunately, the last two houses houses I have moved into have not had the cabinet space with the right dimension with which to put in a compactor or no place for a stand alone unit.

It's the first time, in about 30 years, since I put a compactor in my 1984 condo that I have not had a compactor, and it has been greatly missed.

All compactors today are made by Whirlpool. I liked the Whirlpool units, but the true General Electric compactors with the removable bin, with handle, were my favorites.

First, they had a more powerful (albeit longer) compacting cycle and I could fit more trash in one bag than Whirlpool's.

Secondly, I just pulled the bin out of the machine by its handle, carried it to the curb and pulled the bag out. Whirlpool had a plastic piece with cord/rope handles that fit under the compactor bag to aid in carrying the bag, and that worked OK, but the cords cut into my hand and you had to use care not to tip the bag out of it.

I preferred the GE's, it was easy to carry with the metal handle. Another advantage, if you accidentally got a liquid into the bin of the Whirlpool it leaked out of the bin and onto the floor and under the unit, is the bag had a small tear in it. In the General Electric all remained in the solid bin, nothing could leak out of it.

The General Electric plastic bin could be easily lifted out and be washed by hand or put into the dishwasher.

You do not need to buy special bags for a compactor. For my Whirlpools and my GE's I used the thicker lawn and harden bags, and they worked every bit as well for a fraction of the cost.

All bags, whether the dedicated compactor bags (paper or plastic) or the regular trash bags will get small rips/tears if you crush a lot glass in them. Occasionally other objects (sharp plastic shards, metal can lids, etc.) may pierce the bags as well. Even the heavy lined paper bags from Whirlpool pierced. Small tears don't hurt anything.

Since they all get little tears occasionally, anyway, I gave up buying the more expensive dedicated compactor bags.

I liked the earlier bags made by Whirlpool. They had large print on them them saying "Trashed Compacted by a Whirlpool Trash Masher." Good advertising strategy on Whirlpool's part.

It was fun, when all my neighbors had two or three garbage cans at the end of their driveway, I had one neat little square package (Whirlpool) or a little cylindrical one (GE) sitting at the end of my driveway.