How to contain smell of garbage

December 26, 2019 8:02 AM

I keep my garbage in my garage and have a problem in that everything in my garage takes on its (which is dominated by noxious notes of cat poo and pee litter). I don't put the garbage bins outside, because I'm concerned about them attracting predators of my outdoor cats. Just wondering if there are any super-duty trash bins anyone could recommend that contain smell or any other methods not occurring to me.
posted by Jon44 to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Is the garbage bagged inside of the containers? What are the containers like?
posted by k8t at 8:06 AM on December 26, 2019

For litter, I would highly recommend getting a litter genie and then you could just empty it on trash day. The liner keeps the odors in, and when removed and tied off it is well sealed and doesn't let the odors out. By taking it out on trash day you minimize the amount of time it's even in the garbage.
posted by DoubleLune at 8:22 AM on December 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

I have a very basic SimpleHuman trash can in my house that I never smell anything out of unless I open it and it's particularly noxious. It seals really well. That's the key. Their garbage bags are actually worth it too as they're thick and fit really well.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:31 AM on December 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

A plastic five gallon bucket with a sealing lid, just for the liter, will keep the smells in. (Except briefly when you open it to add stuff or to dump them to the bin on pickup day.
posted by eotvos at 8:36 AM on December 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Start with the garbage itself. Rinse out containers that contain potentially stinky items. Anything that's potentially stinky gets put inside something else already in the trash. For example, I save the waxy bags from cereal/crackers/etc., and use those to hold other stinky trash items. That extra barrier (something I'd be throwing away anyway) helps to contain odors until trash day.
posted by hydra77 at 9:11 AM on December 26, 2019 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: "Is the garbage bagged inside of the containers? What are the containers like?"

The litter gets collected in thinnish 8 gallon bags--when they're filled they go into the big 35 gallon rubber-maid plastic container. I line that with thick 3 mil plastic bag, but I assume the smell emanates out anyway (or through the top...)
posted by Jon44 at 9:13 AM on December 26, 2019

If all else fails and if you have room, consider buying a small used freezer or bar fridge on Craigslist or the like. Keep it plugged in a the lowest temp. I did this for my composting and it has been a game-changer.
posted by i_mean_come_on_now at 10:06 AM on December 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

You could put some odor absorbing cat litter in the bottom of the container, outside of the 3 mil bag you line it with. It will absorb odors and any leaks from the bag. I've done this with my indoor garbage can and it has cut down on stinky trash issues a lot.
posted by arachnidette at 10:26 AM on December 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

absolutely second the litter genie. it contains all smells like magic. the only downside for me is the bag of dirty litter is heavy to carry downstairs and out to the dumpster. but not unmanageable.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 10:45 AM on December 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Line the rim of the lid with foam, for example the stuff you use to seal windows, and then when you close it either snap it shut or bungee it down tight. It'll provide an airtight seal. Also clean it out regulaely with a hose and a scrubby brush when its warm enough to do so /bear country
posted by fshgrl at 12:40 PM on December 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Smells will travel through even the best sealed conventional plastic garbage bags and animal waste smells seem to stick to the plastic of the garbage bin. I have a separate metal garbage can with metal lid that holds a kitchen-tall garbage bag amount of garbage and it lives outside. I use it exclusively for the dog's waste bags. Because the container is metal, no critters get in and I've noticed no attraction to the can (my neighborhood has robust populations of mice, rats, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and the odd coyote). I line the can with a kitchen-tall sized bag once a week, all dog waste bags go in there, and then the bag gets moved to the main garbage on garbage day. It makes things so much less smelly, especially in summer. It's not as fancy as a Litter Genie, but if you have outdoor space you can use, it's a good, low-tech, low-cost solution.
posted by quince at 1:52 PM on December 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

I would use smaller bags for the cat litter and tie off and change them at least weekly. The funk of older waste is definitely worse.
posted by momus_window at 4:01 PM on December 26, 2019