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Reclaim your kitchen by investing in a top-rated trash compactor.
There's no getting around it: Busy kitchens generate a lot of trash and overflowing, smelly garbage bags can give even the most beautiful of kitchens a black eye. At the same time, it's time-consuming and unpleasant to have to constantly be taking out your trash, cleaning the can, replacing the liner and keeping odors under control. If your household's trash is piling up faster than you can handle it, a trash compactor is worth the investment, potentially reducing your trash volume up to 80%. Whether you select a built-in, free-standing or convertible model, trash compactors compress items like metal, plastic and food waste into compact (though heavy) "bricks" of trash that you only have to take out once per week, or so. Plus, they can help limit the number of plastic garbage bags that ultimately end up in landfills.
Our experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Care and Cleaning Lab compared the latest manual and automatic models from tried-and-true appliance brands like Whirlpool, GE and KitchenAid to pull together this list of the best trash compactors you can buy to get your mountains of trash under control.
The GH Institute Lab experts test KitchenAid appliances all the time, from its dishwashers and refrigerators to stand mixers and blenders, and love the brand for its quality appliances that get the job done. So we'd expect no less from this gorgeous stainless steel-finish trash compactor. It boasts a compaction ratio of 5 to 1, meaning it reduces trash volume up to 80% and compresses into one bag the amount of trash that would normally fit in five. A fan and charcoal filter help control odors, extra insulation helps reduce noise and a side-release bin and tilt-away basket make for easier emptying. It’s no surprise this beautiful, integrated compactor with its towel-bar handle gets so many glowing online reviews.
For a totally seamless look, this trash compactor from GE has hidden controls and can accept custom panels to match your existing — or new — cabinetry if you're installing it during a major kitchen renovation. It's also available in three standard colors —black, white, and stainless steel — should you want it to blend into your current kitchen no matter the aesthetic. In our experts' opinions, getting all of these design options at such an affordable price is a great value. Like other comparable models, it has a 1/3 horsepower motor, 1.4 cubic feet of capacity and a tilt-out bin for easy unloading. Kudos for its removable drawer for easier cleaning, rear wheels for easier installation and key lock for added safety. GE dishwashers are always top performers in GH tests, so we feel confident this trash compactor will get the job done.
If there's no space in your kitchen for a trash compactor, consider putting one in the basement or garage. This model has a hammered granite finish with a rugged tread design that coordinates with other garage and workroom organizing accessories. And it’s not only freestanding but it's also portable: Locking rubber wheels keep it anchored but also make it easy to move around when needed. It has a dial on the outside for easy access when your arms are full, but for safety around children, the controls can be locked and the dial removed. Its flat top doubles as a work surface or provides added storage.
If you are looking for a trash compactor that you want to use right away and maybe build into a kitchen remodel at a later date, this Whirlpool offers a solution. It can be used freestanding right out of the box or installed more permanently into a cabinet. Its smooth upfront control panel is easy to access and wipe clean. Like others, it has a side-empty bin, toe-touch pedal opening and sound insulation. Rear wheels make repositioning and installation easier and the front panel can even be upgraded with a trim kit to accommodate a matching cabinet door and decorative handle for a more custom installation.
If installing a built-in trash compactor is not an option in your kitchen, a trash can with a manual compacting device can be an alternate solution for managing mounds of trash. Like with most trash cans, this one from Household Essentials has a foot pedal to open the lid and a removable plastic liner. But there's also a removable "pusher" — held in the lid with magnets — that you pop out to manually crush and compress the trash to fit more inside. Keep in mind that you are doing the work here, so the harder you push, the more it crushes the trash. It can be a bit messy as your arm does go down into the bag and the pusher will likely need wiping before snapping it back in place. It comes in two sizes and this larger one uses standard 13-gallon kitchen trash bags, which is a less expensive alternative to having to buy special bags.
If you're looking for a trash compactor that no one will ever know is a trash compactor, this GE model is the one to choose. This sleek, unobtrusive model comes with fronts in stainless steel, white or black to match your kitchen color scheme. The controls are hidden and there's no handle, so all you do is step on the foot pedal to release the drawer. Its side-open, removable drawer makes cleaning inside the compactor easier and for added safety, the control knob can be removed to keep the compactor from starting unintentionally. Without a handle, we wish it had a fingerprint resistant finish, but it doesn't seem to, unfortunately.
At the Good Housekeeping Institute, our engineers, scientists and product experts test hundreds of kitchen appliances every year, including top dishwashers, gas ranges and French door refrigerators, spending thousands of hours assessing performance, ease of use, quality and efficiency.
Though the GH Cleaning Lab has not gotten hands-on with these specific trash compactor models, they do have years of experience testing hundreds of cleaning appliances like front- and top-loading washing machines and clothes dryers from all the major appliance brands — the very same brands that make built-in and portable trash compactors. To inform their recommendations for the best trash compactors, our experts relied on their first-hand knowledge of the quality of the appliances and kitchen tools they have tested from these brands, and also considered buyer reviews and comments.
Trash compactors reduce the number of times you have to take out the trash and change out your trash bag. Unlike regular trash cans, they use force from either a motor — or in the case of manual compactors your arm — to compress the garbage to give you more room in the trash bag. Many automatic ones also have features like odor-reducing fans and charcoal filters to help minimize unpleasant odors in your kitchen, extra insulation to help reduce noise when they are running and control locks for safety in homes with children.
Trash compactors are typically more expensive than traditional trash cans and while installing a built-in model means you don't have a can taking up kitchen floor space, you do have to give up cabinet space that could be used for other storage. Also, most trash compactors require that you buy and use special bags. But they can help you save money and time by decreasing the number of trash bags you go through and the number of times you have to take out the garbage.
Automatic trash compactors are offered by only a few major appliance brands so you won't have unlimited choices when selecting a model — and they all will be similar in size, capacity and horsepower of the motor. Where you will see a difference is around these features:
✔️ Built-in vs. freestanding: If you’re remodeling or building a new home, installing a built-in trash compactor will create the sleekest, most custom look in your space. If you’re just looking to add a trash compactor to your home without any cabinet renovations, consider a freestanding model on wheels that you can tuck into a nearby closet or alcove or in the garage or basement. ✔️ Compaction ratio: This indicates how much the compactor compresses the trash and how much more trash you'll be able to get into the bag. A ratio of 4-to-1 is pretty standard and 5-to-1 is better, meaning that when compacted, you'll get four or five times the amount of trash in each bag. The more trash in the bag, though, the heavier it will be to carry out, so decide if the extra compaction is something you can handle. On the other hand, manual compactors that require your muscle to compress the trash have compaction ratios of about 2-to-1 meaning you'll get twice as much trash in one bag. ✔️ Odor management: If you’re someone who cooks a lot of seafood or anything that has a pungent smell, look for a trash compactor with odor control features. This typically will be in the form of a fan with an activated charcoal filter to help remove any unpleasant smells.
✔️ Sound insulation: If your trash compactor is installed in an open kitchen or area adjoining other gathering spaces in your home, look for one with noise dampening features to minimize the sounds of the motor and crushing glass that some consumers find objectionable.
Many types of household and kitchen trash, including most food scraps, paper, wrappings, metal cans and plastic and glass containers can go into a trash compactor. Depending on the regulations in your area, recyclables may need to be compacted separately from other trash for pick-up, but a compactor can still compress them. Always place bulky items in the center and cans and glass bottles on their sides to keep from stalling the ramming mechanism.
Aerosol cans of non-hazardous materials, like shaving or whipped cream can go in, but don't put any hazardous chemicals or flammable materials, disposable diapers or raw meat into a trash compactor that may create odors or fumes. And, it's best to wrap or bag messy or wet trash before tossing it in or lay newspaper on top to help keep the compactor clean. Keep hands away from the compacted trash, especially if it contains shards of broken glass.
This article was written by Jordan Goldberg, a freelance journalist who specializes in home and lifestyle content.
She worked with Carolyn Forté, the Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Care and Cleaning Lab Executive Director, who has a B.A. in Family & Consumer Sciences from Queens College, City University of New York, and is a consumer products expert. She has been testing, speaking and writing about appliances, textiles, cleaning products and more at Good Housekeeping for more than 40 years. Her experience with cleaning appliances runs deep, regularly testing dishwashers and laundry appliances, visiting appliance manufacturing facilities and working with the industry on the development of appliance testing standards. Carolyn reviewed, edited and contributed to this article.