What to Consider When Buying Indoor and Outdoor Trash Cans

Garbage Cans for Home and Office

Trash cans are an essential part of everyday life. Keeping the garbage under control and in a safe place is essential for cleanliness and good health. Picking the right can for the job is also important. So which garbage cans are right for which areas?

Indoor Trash Cans

Indoor trash cans have lower standards than ones used elsewhere because they are emptied frequently and don't require special lids. If you just need a can to hold paper refuse, a wicker or wire basket makes a perfectly fine waste receptacle. If you expect that you will have a lot of small or wet garbage (especially food waste), then it is a good idea to get a solid garbage can; basic plastic bins work fine and will last for years. It's a good idea to put can liners in such garbage cans.

While you can purchase small can liners, plastic grocery bags work perfectly fine and have no out-of-pocket expense. Kitchen trash cans should be large, because the kitchen is where lots of food waste is produced, and these cans should have lids and/or be kept in a separate closet to keep down the stink. It's also important to empty them frequently. If you compost, a small countertop or under-the-sink composting bin with a tight-fighting lid is a convenient place to collect food scraps.

Outdoor Trash Cans

The trash containers you put outside need to be sturdy and able to hold up to abuse and weather. In the old days, this was done by making waste containers out of aluminum and steel, but they were heavy and would rust out in bad weather. Large, heavy plastic containers with wheels make the best cans in the modern day. It's important to select a can that will endure the local weather, can be struck by cars, and has enough capacity to hold an entire week's trash. If you live in a wooded area, you should have a can with a latch, to keep out animals. Bagging the trash securely to prevent the smell from escaping is also a good idea.

In some cases, the smell is too enticing for critters to resist, and you'll find animals have chewed through the plastic to get inside the trash can. If the heavy-duty plastic is not keeping out the animals, reinforce the barrier with some home remedies for pest control:

• Combine a small bottle of hot pepper sauce with a gallon of water and a teaspoon of dish detergent and spray this solution on the garbage containers.
• Soak some cloths in ammonia and leave them inside the trash can.
• Fill a sock with several mothballs and tape it to the inside of the trash can lid.
• Since many animals detest pungent spice, try rubbing some cayenne pepper onto the container.

Commercial Trash Receptacles

Commercial waste containers need to have special standards depending on their purpose. If you need a commercial trash receptacle, you should contact your local waste disposal company or organization and see what they recommend for your needs. For one-time or occasional large jobs, consider renting a roll-off dumpster. It's best to lease or rent these containers for big jobs, or else have them provided by the waste disposal company, as they are expensive and require care and cleaning. If your business regularly generates large quantities of garbage, a trash compactor can help manage waste.