Avoid Smelly Trash (or Worse) with Our Ultimate Guide to What Goes Where

Separating your trash can take some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, the process quickly becomes second nature. Disposing of certain items in the garbage disposal, compost bin, and recycling bin rather than placing everything in the garbage has numerous benefits.

Here are the reasons to separate your trash, as well as which items should be composted, which should be recycled, what can safely be put in a garbage disposal, and what items should still go in the trash.

Why You Should Separate Your Trash

Recycling can bring new life to items like cardboard, glass, and plastics, but there are other reasons you might want to separate your trash rather than throw everything in the trash can.

Here are a few reasons to separate your trash:

• Help the environment. Some items shouldn’t be placed in the trash because they will end up in a landfill where they can cause serious environmental harm. This includes hazardous materials and chemicals, which can leach into groundwater. Additionally, some items are too dangerous to throw in the trash, as they can pose an injury risk to garbage handlers.
• Prevent odors. Tossing food waste in the garbage can quickly lead to odors that get worse and worse with every minute that passes. Those odors attract pests almost immediately. To avoid this, keep as much food waste as possible out of the trash.
• Improve your garden. What if you could grow new food with your food scraps? Well, you can! Some food waste and other waste can benefit your garden if composted properly, creating nutrient-rich soil amendment to feed your plants.

How to Separate Trash

Maybe you’ve never separated your trash or aren’t confident that you’re doing it correctly. We’ve broken down the items you should separate and whether you should place them in the compost bin, recycling bin, or garbage disposal.

Compost Bin

If you don’t have a compost bin, now is the time to change that, especially if you’re into gardening. Composting creates an opportunity to turn food scraps, lawn and garden waste, and even some trash items into nutrient-rich compost for your garden.

Here’s what you should put in your compost bin:

• Certain food items: Fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, and eggshells
• Lawn waste: Leaves, grass clippings, small sticks and twigs, flowers, weeds, and other lawn debris
• Certain trash items: Shredded newspaper, cardboard egg boxes, sawdust (untreated), and straw

Recycling Bin

Recycling is a great way to help the environment by keeping certain items out of landfills, and it offers new life to throw-away materials like single-use plastics and cardboard boxes. However, it’s helpful to know what you should and shouldn’t put in a recycling bin, as placing the wrong items in a bin can make the entire bin useless.

Here’s what you should put in your household recycling bin:

• Paper products: Paper, cardboard, newspaper, junk mail (without personal info), and more.
• Glass products: Clean glass bottles, old windows, and more.
• Plastic products: Clean plastic bottles, plastic packaging, plastic cups, and more.
• Metal products: Aluminum cans, scrap metal, and more.

Many items should be recycled or strategically discarded rather than thrown in the trash, but they can’t be discarded in a household recycling bin. Instead, these items must be taken to specific drop-boxes and collection facilities for safe disposal.

Items that require special collection boxes or facilities include but aren’t limited to:

• Batteries
• Paint
• Tires
• Mattresses
• Medication
• Chemicals
• Aerosol cans
• Lightbulbs
• Waste oils
• Electronics

Many of these items can harm the environment if improperly disposed of, while others contain valuable recyclable materials that must be processed at specific facilities.

Garbage Disposal

Certain food scraps can be placed in a garbage disposal, which can curb odors in your trash can and help stop pests. However, not all food should be placed in a garbage disposal, so it’s crucial to learn what can and can’t be disposed of in this manner.

Items you should put in your garbage disposal include:

• Small solid foods: Most solid foods can safely be placed in a garbage disposal if you chop them up into small pieces.
• Soft or liquid foods: Soft foods and liquids typically cause no problems in a garbage disposal as long as they aren’t too fatty or greasy.

Items you should not put in a garbage disposal include:

• Bones
• Large pieces of solid food
• Eggshells
• Oil and grease
• Fats and fatty food
• Rice
• Flour
• Pasta
• Fruit and veggie peels
• Coffee grounds
• Any non-food items

Items That Should Still Go in the Trash Can

Many items are best left for the trash, as they can’t be recycled, aren’t beneficial for composting, or can’t be placed in the garbage disposal. These items include but aren’t limited to the following:

• Used tissues
• Used paper towels
• Diapers
• Non-recyclable plastic packaging
• Clothing items that can’t be donated or repurposed
• Any household waste that can’t be recycled or composted