Thread: All Right - Let's Talk Trash Compactors?

Up here they switched to clear bags for trash so the truck operator could inspect the waste streams generated from individual households for proper sorting etc.
Don't think a trash compactor, which we used to have in our old house, would fly with the new order.
I see bags wth red tags on them left curb side at houses that don't recycle properly after the trucks go by on garbage day. Owners have to re-sort to have the trash picked up the next week. Compacting it all into a neat cube might be frowned on, not sure.
Personally, the best bang for our buck was a good sink garbarator. The kind that grind bones.
Thanks to that, and proper recycle sorting, our garbage output for a family of 5 adults is half a can of actual garbage weekly. 4 blue bins, and rarely, the compost bin.

Trash compactor - AKA: foot.

Originally Posted by Phrank

I've been looking at getting a trash compactor.
...good for the environment...
The trash compactor is a tool that allows you to decrease the impact of your waste on landfills...

Please don't. If you want to reduce your impact on the local landfill and be good to the environment,
I have three words...recycle, recycle, recycle. Trash compactors only provide a convenience for you,
not for the environment.

The thing is, with Municipal waste pick up, when your bundle arrives at the transfer station, it will be problematic for them when it is pre-compacted. It means that, inevitably, it will go nowhere BUT a landfill, whereas an uncompacted load would be sorted between landfill and incineration streams. You are not helping the environment one bit.
Far better off if you do things like crushing your aluminum cans, show diligence in recycling everything possible, and eliminating your use of plastics as much as possible. Oh, and do not buy bottled water.

Originally Posted by Orville

The thing is, with Municipal waste pick up, when your bundle arrives at the transfer station, it will be problematic for them when it is pre-compacted. It means that, inevitably, it will go nowhere BUT a landfill, whereas an uncompacted load would be sorted between landfill and incineration streams. You are not helping the environment one bit.
Far better off if you do things like crushing your aluminum cans, show diligence in recycling everything possible, and eliminating your use of plastics as much as possible. Oh, and do not buy bottled water.

That's excellent information - thanks, and from the rest of the responses here - this idea is officially off the table.

Seems from most of the stuff I read about them, they are an incredible PITA and end up smelling something awful.

I'll stick to my old routing of dancing on Pizza boxes and crushing can's.....

Phrank, I say get a compactor & crush away.
Life is too short to have wondered, what it could have been like.

Ah yes, it is far better to have crushed away and lost than to have never crushed away at all.

Bob

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

remember the episode of Happy Days when Mr.Cunningham and The Fonz invented a trash compactor? if i remember correctly in malfunctioned during the demo for the potential buyers. Those things are scary.

While my area has curbside recycling I more than often give my aluminum cans to a friend whose son is disabled so he can have some extra funds. So I have no need of a 'Trash Compactor'.

I hope all will enjoy this bit about recycling;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtoeZ9Nkeqk