How do you store your recyclables

[Garga]

...in your kitchen? I'm talking about glass, cans, and plastic bottles.

 

I have a small house with a tiny kitchen.

 

We keep recyclables in bags hung on nails on the rickety basement staircase wall until they fill up and then we take the full bags outside. I don't like that set up at all. It feels dangerous teetering at the top of staircase putting stuff in plastic bags hanging on the wall on a nail.

 

For those of you with small houses/small kitchens in particular, how do you handle your recycling? Is there a clever container you use? Do you just carry your cans/bottles outside to a trashcan every time you use one?

 

I do not have a pantry or any cupboard space to hide trash/recycle cans in. So whatever I use would be out in the open.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Garga_

[marbel]

Well, we have single-stream recycling so everything can go in one container.  That helps because we also have a small kitchen with no extra space for such things. But, what we have is not elegant. It's just a garbage can and it sits fully exposed in the kitchen. We fill it up and take the stuff out when it's full, whether that's twice a day or once a week.  When company is coming, we take it to the laundry  room.  I have thought about a covered one but then I fear people would throw trash in it...

 

[Beaniemom]

We have an enclosed trashcan for trash and keep paper grocery bags next to it for recycling. We'll have a paper sack open next to the trash and when it is full take it out to our big recycle can.

[MEmama]

We keep our blue bin on the top shelf of a unit in the garage, right outside of our kitchen and at the same height as the door landing. When it gets full,we transfer the contents to the larger, covered container that goes to the curb on collection day.

 

So basically, just outside the door to the garage, right off the kitchen. The 3 season porch would work too, but it's too cold to want to open that door in winter.

[Garga]

Well, we have single-stream recycling so everything can go in one container. That helps because we also have a small kitchen with no extra space for such things. But, what we have is not elegant. It's just a garbage can and it sits fully exposed in the kitchen. We fill it up and take the stuff out when it's full, whether that's twice a day or once a week. When company is coming, we take it to the laundry room. I have thought about a covered one but then I fear people would throw trash in it...

Single stream recycling sounds lovely! Our regular trashcan is already in the middle of the kitchen. We move it around all day long as we're using it. It sort of sits in a corner, but most of the time it could be anywhere in the room. It's a tiny kitchen without wall space.

[GreenKitty]

The garage enclosed trash can.

[Pawz4me]

We use a small (21 quart) trash can. There's just enough room for it between the fridge and the door leading out to the garage. We're in and out all the time, so it's no big deal to carry it out to the big recycling container and dump it. We don't have to separate any of our recyclables.

[Junie]

We have two trash cans side by side in the kitchen.  One is for trash, the other for recyclables.

 

We also have the same arrangement under the computer desk.

[Guest]

I have a dishpan sitting on the counter next to my sink. All the rinsed recyclables go in there. When it is full (usually once a day) the kids take it to the garage and sort the contents into the different recycle containers. Then once every week or two we load the containers into the back of the pick up, drive to the recycle center, sort our recyclables into their large containers, then drive home and start all over again. ðŸ˜

Edited July 2, 2017 by Kinsa

[Garga]

I have a dishpan sitting on the counter next to my sink. All the rinsed recyclables go in there. When it is full (usually once a day) the kids take it to the garage and sort the contents into the different recycle containers. Then once every week or two we load the containers into the back of the pick up, drive to the recycle center, sort our recyclables into their large containers, then drive home and start all over again. ðŸ˜

I've always assumed that the recyclables have to be separated. If they don't, then I can probably just deal with a 2nd can in the kitchen.

 

If they do, then the above is a great idea for our small kitchen. We'd lose precious counter space, but it's better than teetering at the top of that staircase. If it's a small enough bin, I might be able to tuck it under the sink directly on top of the bin with our dishwashing gloves and sponges and things.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Garga

[KungFuPanda]

We have two trash cans side by side in the kitchen. One is for trash, the other for recyclables.

 

I do the same. We haven't had to sort in over a decade.

 

Does the op have a room just off the kitchen where she can place recycling? It's not smelly or anything, so space just outside the kitchen is worth considering.

[scholastica]

We have a small trash can under the sink. It is someone's job after dinner to take that day's recycling to the large can in the garage. We have single stream recycling.

[happi duck]

We have a Simple Human trash can with a lid. It has two inserts, one for trash and one for recyclables.

[gingersmom]

I get my steps in going in/out to recycling can in garage.

[Guest]

I miss not having to sort recycling!!

 

Now we use these. We have to take our own to the dump too. They stack on each other. A large for paper, large for plastic and two small for metal and glass.

 

http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/10255897/

[unsinkable]

We don't have to sort, so anything that doesn't have lots of stuck on food goes right outside to the bin. If it needs to be seriously washed (bc of potentially attracting pests while it is outside in the bin) it goes in the dishwasher, then it goes outside in the bin.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I put buckets in the hallway outside the door (so the entry way I guess you'd call it).  There is no space in my kitchen for something like that.

 

 

[ScoutTN]

We have two huge rolling trash cans supplied by the city fot everything except plastic bags and glass. Once a month curbside pick-up. Ww can get more bins if we need them.

 

I keep glass in a kitchen trash bag iny laundry room and drop it by a local school once or twice a month.

Plastic grocery bags, which I generally avoid using, I recycle at grocery.

[Tap]

In both of our houses, our garage has been right off the kitchen.  We keep the bins right outside the kitchen door in the garage. 

Edited July 3, 2017 by Tap

[meena]

I have a bag holder like this mounted on the cabinet door under the sink. The one I have uses regular size grocery bags, which is pretty small so we usually empty the bag at least once a day. It does stick a little bit into the cabinet space, so it may not work for you.

[gstharr]

our problem is not keeping the cans and bottle, but rather recycling them.  Only after the backyard has 6 or 8 full large thrash bags, and looks so disgusting, do we finally head to the center.

[Julie Smith]

We have multiple stuff to sort. It takes 4 bins.

 

One is kept in our non functioning dishwasher.the other are kept in the mud room that is beside the kitchen.

[TechWife]

We can put all of our recycling in the same bin, so I just have a second garbage that is dedicated to recycling. When we empty the garbage to the outside can, we take out the recycling can and dump the contents into the outdoor bin. 

[TechWife]

We have two trash cans side by side in the kitchen.  One is for trash, the other for recyclables.

 

We also have the same arrangement under the computer desk.

 

I need to add a recycle can to our bathroom. I often think about how much recycling is created in the bathroom!