Waste segregation is not only a requirement imposed by municipal services; it is also an expression of our environmental awareness and care for the planet. The modern way of life means we produce enormous amounts of waste that must somehow be managed. The most classic solution is placing a segregation container under the sink, but when there is a need to place several containers in one cabinet, it may become problematic. So where to put a waste bin if not in the cabinet under the sink?
What is waste segregation?
Every day we generate a lot of rubbish. Plastic packaging, milk cartons, paper wrapped around cold cuts, yogurt containers, are just the beginning and actually limited to the waste generated in the kitchen. On top of that, there are peels, food scraps, frying oil, and of course various items that have been broken, shattered, or damaged. In the past, everything ended up in a single container that easily fit in the cabinet under the sink. Today, we have at least three such containers, and sometimes even more.
Each household is required to sort the waste it produces. Therefore, you must have separate containers for plastic and metal, glass, paper, kitchen waste, and mixed waste. At best three, at worst five containers that must find space somewhere. Where to place a bin if there's no more room under the sink, and is a bin under the sink really the best location for rubbish?
What instead of a bin under the sink?
The market abhors a vacuum; since there is a problem with space for a bin under the sink, many other ideas have appeared on how to handle segregation without cluttering the entire kitchen. One idea is to dedicate an entire cabinet solely to rubbish bins. This utilizes a cabinet in the fitted kitchen located in a chosen place, for example, under a kitchen counter or beneath an island. The bins inserted into such a cabinet interact with a cargo system; you just need to open the door and pull out the platform that the bins are on. The advantage of this solution is the ability to tailor the cabinet to the users' needs.
An equally good solution can be a drawer made of a steel frame on which bins are hung. The whole thing is covered with a front matching the rest of the cabinetry. The advantage of this way of placing rubbish bins is that they are all at the same height and do not require bending down. The drawer placed under the worktop can be pulled out after peeling vegetables, and the scraps just need to be pushed off the countertop directly into the appropriate bin.
Sensible space management - bins not necessarily under the sink
A very original idea for placing rubbish bins in the kitchen is using a corner cabinet. Here, we can opt for a magic corner type solution, which means bins that pull out of the cabinet one by one, an excellent idea for using hard-to-reach nooks. A good idea can also be bins placed on a shelf that pulls out when the cabinet door is opened. You can also install a hanging round bin there, which will rotate depending on which type of waste you want to discard at that moment.
People who have really large kitchens and for some reason do not want to place all their waste bins under the sink can take advantage of free-standing bins. The contemporary market offers us many possibilities when it comes to choosing bins in terms of sizes and colors, and it's easy to find ones that are not only functional but can also serve decorative purposes.
.jpg)
Other solutions for your kitchen
Looking for an alternative to bins placed in the cabinet under the sink can really reveal interesting solutions. One example is kitchen waste containers where compost can be produced. This idea will work even in a small block kitchen; a small bucket allows for food scraps to be managed according to ecological principles.
As part of recycling, you can deal with certain rubbish by reusing them – this particularly applies to jars or glass bottles, as well as some plastic containers. Paper and cardboard can be collected in a cardboard box, so you won't have to transfer them from the container to the bag. You can take paper and aluminum for recycling in a scrapyard, but in recent years, this has practically ceased to yield any profit.