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I found a company that makes them called Clean Chutes but I can't figure out how you'd clean the interior of the chute which could get disgusting pretty quickly if you throw chicken skin and other sticky stuff down the chute.
My house is a one story ranch so I think I should be able to jerry-rig something coming out of the kitchen wall and going directly into a plastic lined chute or garbage can...unless someone knows of another manufacturer?
My in-laws have a chute, but not everything goes down it -- no garbage, no coffee grounds, etc. And just because of the yuck factor.
In theory, chutes are a great idea - get the trash right out of the kitchen and into the barrel, and take the barrel to the street on collection day. But the practicality of chutes is lacking: not everything should go down the chute, so you still need some sort of can for the non-chute items; getting the heavy barrel out of the basement (presuming yours is a walk-out basement); cleaning the chute which requires the messy job of a sponge on a stick.
My grandparents had a chute and I fondly remember it, so I always thought I wanted one. But once I spent time with one at my in-laws, I changed my mind. I much prefer the can I keep under the sink. Yes, it means more frequent trips to the trash barrel since tall kitchen bags can only hold so much, but the trash is out of sight and doesn't stay long under the sink, so no science projects have a chance to grow.
I saw a home made version on This Old House a number of years ago. It was put together well, decent system.
Would I ever have one; absolutely not. I can't see wanting a hole in my kitchen wall that connected to a bin full of decomposing garbage. I wouldn't be brave enough to open that hatch in the hot months. Recyclables sound more reasonable but they'd have to be clean and dry. That just doesn't happen in my house.
As maw pointed out, cleaning the chute would be a terrible chore.
I been a Kitchen Designer for 27 years. I dont think I ever been asked for a garbage shoot. I think I might say no if they did. Dont you have to have a basement or a place lower then the kitchen floor where the catch basket is?
But this reminds me of something when I was real little living in a tall very very old apartment building. We all had trash shoots in our kitchens. All the trash fell to a bin on the basement floor where the
Superintendent lived. It was his job to shovel the trash into the incinerator. They would actually burn all the trash in the building inside this incinerator.
Up in the kitchen if you opened the hatch door to the garbage shoot us kids always said eeeewwww stinky !!!
I would never have anything like you mention in my house. I suspect few people would.
As a professional firefighter, I would be concerned about the breech in the firestopping. If you have it going to another floor or cellar, you are creating a chaseway for fire between floors. If it went sideways from kitchen to garage, you are breeching the firecode drywall between the garage and the living space.
Thanks for the answers everyone. Unfortunately, I don't have a basement and my house is a one-story ranch on a slab. Gerania said something I hadn't thought of...the heat in the summer reaches to 107! That would really make things stink!
Here is the link to the company that makes trash chutes for houses. I personally wouldn't want a spring-loaded door which is what they offer. EnviroTrash
I guess the only other option to get the trash can out of the way in a narrow galley kitchen is to cut a hole in the countertop. Otherwise if its under the sink, the cabinet door is constantly open.
Thanks for the answers everyone. Unfortunately, I don't have a basement and my house is a one-story ranch on a slab. Gerania said something I hadn't thought of...the heat in the summer reaches to 107! That would really make things stink!
Here is the link to the company that makes trash chutes for houses. I personally wouldn't want a spring-loaded door which is what they offer. EnviroTrash
I guess the only other option to get the trash can out of the way in a narrow galley kitchen is to cut a hole in the countertop. Otherwise if its under the sink, the cabinet door is constantly open.
Now that I do semi often. We have the countertop people cut a 10" hole in the top. Below we have a full height door (meaning no drawer) and the trash can just sits inside. Just drop the trash in the hole and it falls into the trash can. I might guess though that you have very limited cabinet space though so this might not be a great idea either.
And as the person above says there is a fire issue. I didn't even think of that.
Otherwise if its under the sink, the cabinet door is constantly open.
Door constantly open? Ours isn't.
If you can't find a can short enough to fit under the sink, a tall one can be cut down to fit. To make things even easier, it can be placed on a wire basket on sliders so that you can slide the can in and out
I do hope the cut-a-hole-in-the-counter solution has some sort of cover. Smells coming from a trash can can be, um, odoriferous, and I don't think I'd want to be preparing food anywhere near it.
If you can't find a can short enough to fit under the sink, a tall one can be cut down to fit. To make things even easier, it can be placed on a wire basket on sliders so that you can slide the can in and out
I do hope the cut-a-hole-in-the-counter solution has some sort of cover. Smells coming from a trash can can be, um, odoriferous, and I don't think I'd want to be preparing food anywhere near it.
I agree. We have our garbage can under the sink. It takes up part of the left side...right side is for the cleaners, etc. It does not smell.....on the rare times it does, it just tells you time to take out the trash. The door in not ever left open......not a big deal.
If you can't find a can short enough to fit under the sink, a tall one can be cut down to fit. To make things even easier, it can be placed on a wire basket on sliders so that you can slide the can in and out
I do hope the cut-a-hole-in-the-counter solution has some sort of cover. Smells coming from a trash can can be, um, odoriferous, and I don't think I'd want to be preparing food anywhere near it.
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