Maybe it's just where I live, but having a bin of cat food right next to the trash is an open invitation to ants and roaches. Has this been a problem.

(are the images/descriptions for 2 & 3 reversed?)

Most people with a small kitchen can't afford to give up cabinet space like this either! Great idea, but perhaps not realistic for many people!!

@rosebudrmm, I totally hear you and I think the reason it worked for us is because we were able to eliminate some of the typical things that get stored/installed under the sink.

Also, for the dog food we do have a lid that we can use if it gets to be a problem. (Fortunately, the only pests we usually have to deal with are fruit flies.)

I have the simple human pull out cans. On the down side they are small but having said that it does help me to recycle more because I have to avoid filling the trash side too quickly. I often tear cardboard boxes into small pieces so they take up less space in the recycle side.

@rosebudrmm, My kitchen is small and because it is a galley kitchen I am lacking floor space for a free standing trash can opposed to cabinet space. The inside cabinet trash/recycle is a huge space saver for me.

Not a good idea to store pet food in plastic containers. Pets can develop a major allergy to storage mites, plastic containers will speed up the production of these. Residual fats and oils that settle at the bottom and sides of the pet food storage bin can become rancid and contaminate fresh new food. Harmful chemicals from plastic pet food containers can seep into the dog food. Also, This increases the risk of mold growth, and bacterial contamination, leading to food poisoning, vomiting and/or bad diarrhea.

@ dlockwoodohio

Thanks for that information, I am currently storing dog food in a plastic container and having been looking for a better alternative, after reading your comments I will be looking for something that isn't plastic and also washing out the container each time it is emptied!

I have a small kitchen and don't like seeing or smelling garbage cas. I have lots of cabinet space and have a small trashcan plus plastic drawers for my recyclables underneath my sink. I can pull out the drawers and easily take them to my car when I make my recycling runs. Having a small trash can means more trips to the dumpster but also means less garbage hanging around.

Nice idea, and we're currently looking for a great storage option for our kitchen for trash and compost. But our 55-lb dog can also get into almost anything, which has made the process far more difficult. Still looking!

@subtlefrog have you looked into these?

http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/11442-105305/?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_term=11442-500900

they are meant to hold pet food without pets being able to get into them, but a smaller one would probably work for compost as well

How about lining the plastic container for the pet food? You could use a paper grocery store bag or something along that line. Or just purchase the size bag that fits into the plastic storage container. Problem solved! No additional expense.

To the OP, could I ask how you mounted these in a sink cabinet? I mean the 2 rails that would be closest to the middle of the cabinet, typically there is nothing vertical that you could use to bolt the rail to. Did the kit come with something or did you screw down a piece of wood??

@jess13, the rails mount to the "floor" of the cabinet, so no intermediate support is needed.

How are you handling the compost smell?

We have a pretty tiny kitchen, but luckily it's nice and square.
We have the trash/recycling next to the back door (it really doesn't smell since my husband takes it out almost daily..).
But - we had a problem going through kitchen towels since we try not to use paper towels. I got on of these:
http://underbid.com/merchant/aquasupercenter/product/767-6247/BH183PK/Suncast_Outdoor_Recycle_Bin_Yellow_Green_Blue_3_Pack.html?ref=base

and stuck one under the sink cabinet to toss dirty towels in. It keeps us a little bit more sane.

I have a small 7 gallon garbage can under the sink. No fancy pull-out system, though. I have a set of Ikea Dimpa bags and use the large short one for recyclables under the sink on the other side.

Compostables I toss in a small plastic bucket (large OxyClean container) I keep in my freezer. It really helps keep the trash from smelling. Also, freezing bursts some of the cell walls, which later helps the stuff compost faster.

We have a tiny kitchen, and couldn't sacrifice our cupboard space like this. We are lucky enough to have a laundry though, so the bins are in there.

I wonder if there's a solution that both hides away the garbage like this but ALSO lets you access the garbage when your hands are full. I hate our big, bulky can taking up floor space but really appreciate the step-open lid.

Another vote here for keeping the compost in the freezer - I'm in an apartment, so we do it out of necessity. Those big containers that spinach comes in (we eat a lot of spinach) are perfect b/c you can stack a few if needed.

When we head over to my parents house we dump everything into a brown paper bag and then throw the whole thing - bag & frozen compost - into their backyard bin. No smell, no mess.

i love this to no end. I briefly looked at an under sink storage, but we do have a garbage disposal. It never even occurred to me that there were smaller size bins/tracks available. We have a touchless can that we love (and scored at the thrift store), but it and the recycle bin are stored in front of the dishwasher. So they have to be moved every time I need to load/unload or need to use that counter space. Also, we have several useless cleaning supplies that are just taking up space.

FABULOUS idea!

This is a good idea. Generally the cabinet below the sink cannot be used other than to store cleaning supplies. Using this space as a waste sorting station is the best way to go for small spaces.