Endangered Appliance Species Part 1 - Whatever Happened to the Trash Compactor?

I had a customer come into our Westfield store the other day wanting to look at a replacement trash compactor.  He was surprised when I informed him that we had none on display, and seldom field requests for them.

"Why don't people buy compactors?" he asked.

"That's a great question!" I replied.

You would think that in light of today's landill-challenged planet,  a space-saving appliance would be in every hone.  Actually, compactor sales have been in decline since the late 80's, and as of 2019 less than 4% of households contain one.

Why?  What happened?

Some of the more commonly cited reasons include:

1. Smell- compacted food and debris will eventually stink.
2. Weight - a compacted bag of trash can weigh over 30 lbs.   Many people, especially seniors, can have a problem with a bag that heavy.
3. Price - compactors today sell in the $1000-$1200 range. The best selling unit in our distributor year-to-date is the GE UCG1520SS ($1199, $1149 in black or white.)
4. Shape - compactors make a taut rectangular trash bundle.  This often doesn't work well with a circular trash receptacle.

The site Disposable America expands on these points nicely:

https://disposableamerica.org/course-projects/anastasia-day/compactor-failure/

So, What if you do have to replace your compactor?   

As I mentioned above, compactors cost upwards of $1000, and options are limited.  The best selling unit in our distributor year-to-date is the GE UCG1520SS ($1079, $1149 in black or white.)   https://www.mannystv.com/products/GE-Appliances/ge/ucg1520nss.html

Or, What if you want to upgrade your kitchen, have a 15" wide (the standard cabinet opening for a compactor), and don't want a compactor in your shiny new kitchen?

Well, plenty of refrigeration products are built to fill that 15" space: beverage centers, wine coolers, second refrigerators, even icemakers!  Plan to spend anywhere from $1000 to $3000 on a built-in style secondary unit (built-in units, built for either a 15" or 24" cabinet opening, are designed to work with zero air clearance, and are therefore pricier than a free standing unit.)

A couple of examples:  First, the GE wine cooler PWS06DSPSS

To the right, the Whirlpool wine cooler WUW35X15DS

If these aren't in your price range, other "free-standing" versions of these products are available, usually in the $300-$600 price range.  

How to tell whether a unit is designed to be "built-in"?  The width is the giveaway.  Free-standing products are intentionally NOT 15 or 24".  The manufacturers want to make sure you don't try to build in a fridge that is not designed for that appliacation!

If you have questions on any of this, or would just like help with your remodel project, you can reach out to any of our sales professionals in any of our ten showrooms.

Coming soon- "Whatever happened to the Good Ol' Electric Coil Range?"