our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

wrote in message
...
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen


One of the condo developments that I do work in each had one installed by
the builder 20 something years ago. I am surprised to find that there are a
few still around. Just another appliance to break down and they are a PIA to
clean out thoroughly to get rid of the smell. I have pulled a few out for
customers and they can be quite nasty if not cleaned regularly.

Personally I wouldn't want a week's worth of garbage collecting in the
house. Here in NJ we must recycle paper, boxes, cans, and bottles so a
separate container must be used for that stuff.

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:58:59 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

It was one of those bad ideas of the 70's. Few people really want an
immovable object that smells like a landfill.

If you want something cool, get an automatic compost maker. :-)
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/autocomposter.html

on 3/23/2008 6:58 PM said the following:
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen


I have had the same Kenmore compactor in my kitchen for 20+ years. It
has never required repair.
I have used a trash compactor for over 40 years, starting with a Kenmore
portable unit when I lived in an apartment.
In answer to some other comments.
We used to use the $.50 compactor bags sold by Sears for years. A year
or so ago when we ran out of the special bags, we used a Glad ForceFlex
kitchen bag as a temporary solution. It worked so well that we continued
to use them, and still use them today. They very rarely tear, and if
they do, it is near the top where the bag stretches over the container
sides.
We recycle glass and plastic, so they don't go into the compactor,
thereby reducing the risk of bag tearing (glass used to tear the special
bags too).
When we dump messy food remains into the compactor, we place newspaper
over the mess, to keep the ram clean.
The trash in our compactor lasts about a week. There is no noticeable
smell, probably due to the newspaper covering the messy stuff .
The compactors come with a special spray can attachment that
automatically sprays a dose into the container when the door is closed,
but we haven't used them for years and a spray of Odo-Ban or Febreze
once in a while will do the same.
The bag does get heavy, but I have no problem getting the bag out, and I
am 70.
When you get that 96 gallon trash can for the auto-load garbage trucks,
your dogs will have a hard time getting into it as the lid itself is
very heavy and about 42" off the ground..


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

" wrote:

plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.

The good news is- those big containers are pretty good at keeping
critters out.

Jim

wrote:
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

They are amazing devices!

They can magically turn twenty pounds of garbage into twenty pounds of
garbage.

on 3/24/2008 9:47 AM HeyBub said the following:
wrote:

our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen


They are amazing devices!

They can magically turn twenty pounds of garbage into twenty pounds of
garbage.




....in a smaller amount of volume, and using fewer garbage bags.
Didn't like the one you had?

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

our dogs are the problem, indoors.

the racoons are the outdoor garbage pickers

WE have used a trash compactor for about 30 years. For the past 10 years,
we have been required to separate our recyclable items from the rest. We
began using the compactor for the recyclables, the rest in a regular trash
can. Since we rinse the items before putting them in the compactor, there
is no smelly mess. Depending on the weeks activity, we can go anywhere from
1-3 weeks before emptying the compactor. Newspapers and other paper times
go in a separate paper bag. The soft foods go into the disposal and the
other trash does not cause a smelly mess
wrote in message
...
our dogs are the problem, indoors.

the racoons are the outdoor garbage pickers

willshak wrote:

They are amazing devices!

They can magically turn twenty pounds of garbage into twenty pounds
of garbage.




...in a smaller amount of volume, and using fewer garbage bags.
Didn't like the one you had?

Trash bags are a renewable resource; just go to the store and get more. They
appear on the shelves by magic.

wrote in message
...
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

Get the recyclables clean and separated. That leaves the rest (sorry to be
obvious - trying to be clever). Food wastes can be put into the freezer
until the day that the trash goes to the curb. It sure cuts down on smell
as well as the dogs' incentive to dig into the trash.

on 3/24/2008 4:55 PM HeyBub said the following:
willshak wrote:

They are amazing devices!

They can magically turn twenty pounds of garbage into twenty pounds
of garbage.




...in a smaller amount of volume, and using fewer garbage bags.
Didn't like the one you had?


Trash bags are a renewable resource; just go to the store and get more. They
appear on the shelves by magic.



Plastic garbage bags are a renewable resource? Where do they grow?


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:58:59 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

We have had ours for at least 12 years and really like it. There is
just my wife and I. We normally empty only once a week. Of course a
lot of our waste goes into the large recycling container the city has
furnished us with, so that keeps a lot of it out of the compactor.

When we had our greyhound she figured out how to open it so we had to
keep it locked. She would paw at the front of it until she'd step on
the pedal next to the floor and it would come open. She died a few
years back and our other dogs have never figured it out and don't even
bother it.
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

On 24 Mar 2008 01:00:51 GMT, Steve wrote:

" wrote on 23 Mar 2008 in group
alt.home.repair:

our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

I had a small cottage industry going for awhile replacing trash compactors
with pull-out recycle bin drawers.

Trash compactors were a solution in search of a problem because:
* They require special bags that cost a dollar or more each.

Ours doesn't. We use ordinary kitchen size plastic garbage bags and
they work fine. Of course we did buy the expensive ones for awhile
until I figured out they were the same size as the plastic kitchen
bags.

* The bags, when full, are too heavy for many people to lift.

What the heck we they putting in them that made them so heavy?

* The stuff at the bottom rots and starts stinking before the bag gets
full.

Meat and kitchen food scraps go outside in our garbage can which has a
latch on the lid.

If you have a small family, it might take several weeks to fill it
up.

We automatically empty ours every week the night before garbage
pickup.

* They squeeze paper pretty well, but don't really compact that much. They
won't crush bottles or heavy cans. They just squish normal cans a little.

All of those things belong in the recycling bin.

* Modern recycling programs have removed all the really compactable stuff
from the trash stream.

Really? We are not allowed to put Styrofoam such as eggs cartons in
to the recycling bin. We do manage to fill ours at least half full
every week. Things such as prescription bottles go into it because of
privacy concerns.
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:16:32 -0400, "John Grabowski"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen


One of the condo developments that I do work in each had one installed by
the builder 20 something years ago. I am surprised to find that there are a
few still around. Just another appliance to break down and they are a PIA to
clean out thoroughly to get rid of the smell. I have pulled a few out for
customers and they can be quite nasty if not cleaned regularly.

We have a hard plastic bin that we put the garbage bag in and then it
slides right down into the compactor. It was manufactured especially
for our trash compacter, a Kenmore.


Personally I wouldn't want a week's worth of garbage collecting in the
house. Here in NJ we must recycle paper, boxes, cans, and bottles so a
separate container must be used for that stuff.

So where is the problem if you have a separate container for
recycling?
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:57:56 -0000, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:58:59 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

It was one of those bad ideas of the 70's. Few people really want an
immovable object that smells like a landfill.

If it smells you aren't putting the right things in it. Meat,
vegetable and fruit trash needs to be put in a garbage can outside the
house.


If you want something cool, get an automatic compost maker. :-)
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/autocomposter.html
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:47:12 -0500, "HeyBub" wrote:

wrote:
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

They are amazing devices!

They can magically turn twenty pounds of garbage into twenty pounds of
garbage.


True enough. However, they turn it into a small cube that is easy to
handle.
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:23:45 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

our dogs are the problem, indoors.

the racoons are the outdoor garbage pickers

Which is why we bought a garbage can for outside that has a latch on
it. So far the raccoons and possums haven't figure out how to open it,
but they sure love our bird feeders even though they are "squirrel
proof."
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:45:18 -0400, willshak
wrote:

on 3/24/2008 4:55 PM HeyBub said the following:
willshak wrote:

They are amazing devices!

They can magically turn twenty pounds of garbage into twenty pounds
of garbage.




...in a smaller amount of volume, and using fewer garbage bags.
Didn't like the one you had?


Trash bags are a renewable resource; just go to the store and get more. They
appear on the shelves by magic.



Plastic garbage bags are a renewable resource? Where do they grow?

There are some in the stores that are biodegradable.
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:30:18 GMT, Grandpa Chuck wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:57:56 -0000, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:58:59 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

It was one of those bad ideas of the 70's. Few people really want an
immovable object that smells like a landfill.

If it smells you aren't putting the right things in it. Meat,
vegetable and fruit trash needs to be put in a garbage can outside the
house.

That would be totally defeating the purpose of it. Why not carry the
remaining 10% to the trash and forego the joy of producing a slightly less
smelly 250lb block?

willshak wrote:

Trash bags are a renewable resource; just go to the store and get
more. They appear on the shelves by magic.



Plastic garbage bags are a renewable resource? Where do they grow?

On grocery shelves. You walk down the row, pick one, put it in your basket.

Same as if you were plucking an ear of corn.

Harvesting whale oil - another renewable resource - is a bit trickier.

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:47:12 -0000, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:30:18 GMT, Grandpa Chuck wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:57:56 -0000, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:58:59 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
our digs are overturning getting into and generally attacking our
garbage can daily when were not home. heck they will turn it over even
empty and clean. must be their latest hobby. plus our community is
reportedly going to a single 96 gallon container picked up by machine.
i run a small business here and occasionally generate extra trash.

anyone have a compactor? are you happy? i never had one of these, but
oddly enough have room for it in the kitchen

It was one of those bad ideas of the 70's. Few people really want an
immovable object that smells like a landfill.

If it smells you aren't putting the right things in it. Meat,
vegetable and fruit trash needs to be put in a garbage can outside the
house.

That would be totally defeating the purpose of it. Why not carry the
remaining 10% to the trash and forego the joy of producing a slightly less
smelly 250lb block?

So all of your trash that is not meat, vegetables or fruit and does
not belong in the recycling container is not worth putting in the
compacter?

What the heck are you putting in the compacter that adds up to 250
pounds? When ours is full it seldom weighs more than 15 pounds.
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me

Grandpa Chuck wrote in message ...
When we had our greyhound she figured out how to open it so we had to
keep it locked. She would paw at the front of it until she'd step on
the pedal next to the floor and it would come open. She died a few
years back and our other dogs have never figured it out and don't
even
bother it.


Geez Chuck, you certainly have your share of misbehaved animals. First
the dog, then the cats, have you considered goldfish? LOL ;-)

Cheri

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:04:15 -0800, "Cheri" gserviceatinreachdotcom
wrote:


Grandpa Chuck wrote in message ...
When we had our greyhound she figured out how to open it so we had to
keep it locked. She would paw at the front of it until she'd step on
the pedal next to the floor and it would come open. She died a few
years back and our other dogs have never figured it out and don't
even
bother it.


Geez Chuck, you certainly have your share of misbehaved animals. First
the dog, then the cats, have you considered goldfish? LOL ;-)

Cheri


Yeah, but I figure either one of the cats or shepherd dog would make
short work of them. I'd love to have a large aquarium, but then I
remember just how much work they really are if you want to keep them
clean and keep the tropical fish healthy.
--

Grandpa Chuck
-ô¿ô-
~

Please grant me:
the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
the courage to change the one that I can
the wisdom to know that it is me