Automatic kitchen trash disposal solution?

December 16, 2018 10:19 AM

We’re renovating our kitchen and I’ve always wanted to install an automatic “kitchen trash to outside trash can” solution. Not sure if one exists, and google didn’t help (mostly just trash compactor units), so I figured I’d ask the hive mind :-)

Ideally the solution would let me put something in the kitchen trash can, and then it somehow gets that trash into the outside trash can (either piecemeal or when the kitchen trash is full). Possibley an inside of the kitchen in-wall system that dumps to the outside trash, but is contained / sealed enough to keep critters out? Would be a bonus if I didn’t have to deal with trash bags any more frequently than I do now (twice a week). I just want to take the outside trash cans to the curb on trash day and not have to drag anything outside. Any ideas?

posted by thankyoumuchly to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

I would do this with a chute, not machinery.

Basically mate something like this outside to something like this opening in to your kitchen (Eponysterically sold by the fine folks at trashchutedoor.com).
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:31 AM on December 16, 2018

My in-laws have something like this for their organic...there's a circular hole cut in their countertop, with a heavy wooden lid, that has a rubbish bin underneath it. There's no way to access the bin from inside the house, it's in a sort of cubby hole that you access from outside. It has a door with a latch and is maybe 1m x 1m. Super low tech but nothing to break or get dirty.
posted by conifer at 11:17 AM on December 16, 2018

I stayed in a beach house once with the same setup that conifer describes, but it was for general garbage. It seemed great and was dead-simple to use.
posted by duien at 12:06 PM on December 16, 2018

Not to be Debbie Downer, but it may be that the reason this doesn't exist is that it's a bad idea. You know who loves trash as much as you hate it? Raccoons, squirrels, bears, and mice. You know what happens if you open a gateway to your main outdoor trash from the inside? You open the small mammal gateway. I think this sounds absolutely amazing in theory (never taking the trash out to the big can? hells yes!), but I can't think of a way to do it that wouldn't encourage critters to come in your house.

But other people are certainly more clever than I am, so I'm watchin' this!
posted by nosila at 1:19 PM on December 16, 2018 [5 favorites]