What ever happend to trash compactors?

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scoots

scoots

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I was breezing though a Sears 1972 big book catalog and came across a few trash compactors. I was about 12 in '72 and remember them existing, but my neighborhood didn't have any and I never remember seeing one in action.

From memory, they seem to have faded from the scene by 1980, so my question is, what happened to make them go extinct?

 

(I added a few pictures from a random eBay auction because posts just are no fun without pictures)

scoots++1-15-2014-20-43-21.jpg
 
I'd have to guess that recycling programs to handle the paper, cans, and glass that were once a big part of curbside trash bags did it. I remember the GE CompactAll that we had in the family house from 1974 to 1988 compacted a lot of those items!
 
Trash Compactors

Are Not Extinct and I would never want to live without one, we have them in all three homes, and with recycling we only empty the compactor less than twice a year.

The basic reason they never really caught on is that most people are too stupid to figure out to use one to best advantage, it is basically the same reason that Gas Ranges sales have increased since the 80s again because most people do not have enough mechanical smarts to figure out how to use an electric range.

That Kenmore is a good compactor you found.
 
I've had a Kenmore compactor since 2003 and cannot live without it. I live on the third floor of my building and this saves me trips out to the trash/recycling bins out back. I change my compactor bag every 2-3 weeks.
 
Another factor of the slow demise of home compactors-simply trash truck compactors are much more powerful-and they can handle bulky waste the home undercounter compactor can't.Lets face it the hydraulic compaction system in modern trash tracks can compact trash to a greater density-lets see starting at about 1000Lbs per cubic yard.And can the household compactor crush a car as the RL trucks made by Leach or the one by New Way-the New Way Magnum.These are shown on YouTube.Side Loaders and Front loaders can compact waste to a greater density,too.These are about 1000 lbs per CuYd as well.And many recycling trucks have compactors in them to crush things such as bottles,cans.There are Side load and RL trucks that have dual or multiple compartments to handle recyclables.
 
Too [ Mechanically ] Stupid To Cook On Gas ?

I apologize for the way I worded that statement, I should have worded it a little differently.

What I was trying to say was after having several thousand conversations with customers over the last 40 years over the advantages of gas vs electric stove cooking that I have often noticed that people that prefer gas stove-top burners are generally much less mechanically inclined. They also seem to have more trouble figuring out and fixing many things around the house [ they are also some of our best customers for repair work ].

I find that more often people who prefer and work very well on electric stove-tops have are generally more organized in respect to mechanical aspects of their life.

Obviously these are generalizations that do not apply in many cases and there are many other reasons to buy either a gas or electric stove-top, but if the shoe fits, LOL.
 
I Think I Know....

....What John is trying to say.

There are a lot of people who - for whatever odd reason - prefer not to think. When I say "prefer not to think," I mean they act as if it is excruciatingly painful to reason, anticipate, plan or compensate. They want to go through life with every door open, every light green, every possession new and perfect and every action not only effortless, but wholly without ramifications for the future. This has gotten much more common in my lifetime.

Gas ranges play into this tendency some people have. Gas is instant-on, infinitely variable and gives a visual reference to correlate flame size with heat output. Electric requires more thought from the user, and as I've said, we have a lot of folks out there nowadays who just don't do thought.

Not every gas range user falls into this category - not by a long shot. But that user is out there, and for that user, electric ranges seem to represent a form of torture. [this post was last edited: 1/16/2014-06:04]
 
Depends on how trash is collected....

I heard, so this is purely anecdotal, that trash compactors are popular where trash pickup is charge by load or amount, so compacting waste makes sense. I recall the town where I went to undergrad changing to a load based (not sure of the right terminology) and there was speculation that this would spur sales of and popularity of the domestic trash compactor in that area. Don't know if it actually happened. I should, perhaps, ask people still in the area.

I rebuilt my gas range, does that make me mechanically inclined? *grin*
 
I think a lot of people who had trash compactors didn't use them properly. They probably used them as a garbage can and then when they started to stink before the bag was full they became less than satisfied. Sure you had deodorizers, but how often did people replace those? Just like how often do people replace their refrigerator water filters. They usually don't until they totally clog. And then they buy a new filter begrudgingly.
 
That's a good point about the stuff put into a compactor... I recall it would take our family of four about 3 weeks to fill up a compactor bag and it was all 'dry' waste. The poor, overworked Kenmore disposal in the sink got to handle the food waste.
 
Have had several compactors over the years. The first was a GE and would handle everything. Purchased new in 1974, and was still working when the house was sold.

Second was a Whirlpool. Much more flimsy build. Broke a screw drive and came through the side one day. Replaced with a Broan which is a scissor drive 5,000 or 12/1 compaction.

With the recyclables smashed and separated out, I empty the compactor about every two weeks. Usually there is another bag or so of what I call non-compactables like kitty litter, diapers the like.

I think more people will be looking into compactors again in our area if they implement the pay per bag pick up system they are talking about. [this post was last edited: 1/16/2014-15:28]
 
I use mine everyday.

I use mine for all my recyclable stuff because here we can mix it all together. My food scraps go in the disposal and everything else in the trash. I empty my compactor every 2-3 weeks. I can't imagine life without one.

I would never put in any food or anything that would smell. I agree that is most likely the reason some people stop using them. They get smelly and messy.
 
Kicked To The Curb

When we purchased our compactor back in the 70's, it was marketed by Sears as a replacement for the smelly garbage can in our kitchen. The compactor bags were expensive and a special trip needed to be made to Sears to acquire them. The can of deodorizer was not very effective. The garbage collection in our City was via prepaid City bags which were not strong enough to hold a fully compacted compactor bag. The City decided they would no longer accept 50lbs of trash compacted into a thin plastic 30 gallon garbage bag.

So, for us, it was a LOSE/LOSE purchase all the way around!

Malcolm
 
Broan was the only brand we ever bought.The Whirlpool,G.E.,Etc are just 2300 LBS of crushing force Broan used to have 5000L.b.s.

of force in there's but, then they went down to 3000Lbs and raised the price of them to make money off of bags I guess..There

is a huge difference in how much you can put in there when you have 2.5Tons on the ram compared to a little of one ton..The Broan at

the farm is over 20 years old and still works great.
 
Here's ours back in the Calgary house days . I painted it white because it was originally harvest gold or green.. can't remember now.

132779633.jpg
 
Combo52/John: Thank you, I very much appreciate the clarification and understand that you didn't mean to offend. We're good!

Back on topic, trash compactors always seemed to me like a smart idea. My partner grew up with one and has long said he'd like to have one again. However, so much of our refuse is recycled that our trash can is usually only about half full when we put it out on the curb for collection each week. Perhaps a trash compactor would be put to better use in rural homes where weekly trash collection isn't available.
 
That's why we had ours because we had to haul our own to the landfill. Here in this town 95% of household waste goes in the blue boxes to the curb. We don't even have to sort it anymore
 
I think compactors are a great idea. You would have to be very careful in this part of the country. A well meaning guest tossing in the wrong thing and the ants would have a rave.
 
Recyclables compaction

If you compact all your recyclables together, doesn't that make it harder for the end user (for lack of a better term) to do the final sort and recycle?
 
Single stream recycling-I don't know how the recyclables are separated-one trash company here picks up their subscribers recyclables in an old Pak-Mor RL trash truck-how would you separate the mess esp after the bottles have been ground to collet in the trucks compactor?Well,they do make a neat sound when they get crunched.-But glass chips in the papers?Would like to see the separation process.Think it would be a hell of a mess.Another trash company picks up the recyclables in a large trailer pulled by a pickup truck-least the stuff isn't packed.Bet the driver has to empty the trailer often at the dumping point.This is the same company that used the EZ-Pak "Boss" and Leach RL trucks for gen trash.Nothing like the sound of trash bags popping and whistling in the morning as they are being packed-One morning an exercise ball was crushed in the Pak-Mor-made a nice BOOM!!!This is some of the sights and sounds on my morning walks-the drivers are cooperative and do the pack cycles with hoppers full of bags!!-Or that exercise ball-both of us stood back from the hopper!!Lots of dust blew out when the ball went.
 
I'm not sure how the do it. They just started a few months ago. Prior we had to have bottle/cans/plastic containers in one blue box,,, paper products in another. Looks like the same trucks picking it up. Must be something at the other end separates it all.
 
I don't think we ever had trash compactors over here. Same goes for waste disposals, by the way. If I search for them online, I'm only getting results for devices that help you to press more garbage into the outside trash can. Trash is measured in volume not weight, so compacting would mean that you could get a smaller trash can and have it emptied every four weeks, instead of every other week. This would mean big savings for the consumer. Cities like Cologne will charge a fine of 50,000 Euros (67,655 USD) if they find out that you have repeatedly compacted your trash  into a small garbage can.

 

The first (and only) time I saw a compactor, I though it was an 18" dishwasher.
 
Well, it seems no one had to pay the fine yet. It's more likely that your trash just won't be picked up, so an article said. In the end, it's just another way for the municipalty to make more money.

 

The one web site that offers compactors in Germany sells Broan units, by the way. These retail for 2,400 to 2,700 USD (converted from Euros), which is probably why I have never seen anybody buy them over here. The disposers are Ecofast, EcoSink and InSinkErator.
 
Never owned a compactor but...

it would make sense to...whether you recycled or not. In the last 17 years of home ownership, we didn't opt for a trash compactor...but in the future, I'd like one...there's alot of non-recyclables.

Just curious...Combo52 and anyone else....do you put everything into your compactors or use it for recyclables only? Recycling is an option....can see where the value increases for those people who chose not to recycle, for whatever reason.
 
Compactor Use

We put only Non-Recyclables in our compactors, which is why we often go more than 6 months before they need to be emptied. All food waste either goes in the disposer, out in the compost pile or just out to feed the wild animals.

I am such an environmentalist that I do not even use bags in my compactor, years ago I purchased a heavy plastic liner for my WPC from WP and when it is full I just take it outside and shake the contents into the trash can. I have never understood the reason to buy plastic bags to put trash into that are just going to be thrown out. I likewise use only about one roll of paper towels per year, we have hundreds of cotton towels that are used for all household cleaning tasks and are washed and used again and again, after all we are washer collectors.

You can really get a lot in a compactor if you use the Extra-Pac cycle when the bin is starting to fill to the point where it seems that the bag will soon need emptying. If your compactor does not have EP [ and only WP built compactors have it ] yuo can accomplish the same thing by starting the compactor and stopping it the instant that the ram is fully in the down position, then you leave the compactor like this and wait for a 1/2 hour or longer, even overnight.

I actually invented the idea of doing this in the early 1970s but unfortunately did not apply for a patent before WP did in the late 1970s, O Well, LOL.

While I do find a compactor very useful, I do have a hard time recommending that my customers spend $500 or more dollars on one when redoing a kitchen. The good news for us appliance collectors is that it is very easy find good sightly used compactors for almost nothing.

John L.
 
Compact use plus

Super helpful, generous reply; evironmental approach you have is great. There's at least one idea in each of us, that we could make money from, maybe you'll have another one appear in your day or nighttime dreams.. :-)
I'm sure you had more than one, anyways.

Thanks John.

(and not to promote..not at all...but for another viewpoint on compactors, try this link)[this post was last edited: 1/19/2014-11:49]

http://ibescience.hubpages.com/hub/Trash-Compactors-Are-One-of-the-Best-Kitchen-Appliances
 

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