[jimmies]

Oh boy that's not a good idea. I have a trash bin that opens automatically just like the author's post. I really realy love it. But the lid doubles as a fan when it opens and closes so it fans out the ordors. You'd want that amount of fanning minimized.

[AnonHP]

This applies mostly to food waste, and in home environments it's better to compost it than throw in a bin and send it to landfills. It takes some effort, but when it's done well, composting shouldn't cause a stink. A self-opening compost bin wouldn't be disgusting.

[Cthulhu_]

That makes assumptions that you have an outdoor space / back yard available for a compost bin and a practical use for said compost, and that's becoming a rarity for a lot of people.

I mean I was finally able to afford a two bedroom house with a modest back yard after nearly ten years living in student housing (the last one of which was more expensive than affordable rental housing, but there's a 10-15 year waiting list for that) so I could probably go for it (don't really have the space or the need for compost though).

[AnonHP]

> That makes assumptions that you have an outdoor space / back yard available for a compost bin and a practical use for said compost...

It made assumptions on using the compost (or disposing it), but no assumptions were made on backyards or outdoor spaces because those are not required for home composting. It can be done with just a little bit more space than what just one or two bins need, and especially with vertical stacking systems, this isn’t as big a problem.

Searching online for “How to compost at home” shows several such stacked systems that need minimal space.

[rusk]

What would you do with compost if you didn't have an outdoor space or back yard?

I used to use mine in the garden, but these days I've a municipal waste service come and take my compostables away. Kind of felt at first like I was giving away my sweet valuable compost for free, but then I found out they give out free mulch in return so was happy enough with that, as was my wife :-)

[OJFord]

You've undoubtedly thought more about bin design than I ever have, or probably ever will, do you have any suggestion for combating that fanning effect?

My kitchen bin is of the slide-out cupboard type, and also suffers from that, despite being more of a shearing than a wafting action!

[rusk]

Treating this as an X/Y problem ... do you separate your waste? I separate anything that smells (non-compostable food waste, non-recyclable junk) into a separate pail, that is emptied every day or two, so it's never there long enough to get smelly. The dry recyclable stuff can stay in there as long as it wants, and the compostible stuff (waste vege material) never really smells too bad, but again gets tossed more frequently.

[OJFord]

Compost, and then recycling (paper/tins/glass mixed where I am) and rubbish in two bins in the same drawer thing.

That's part of the problem really - after compost and recycling I'm left with very little waste, so anything that there is can sit there a while. I tend to empty it because it's been there a while rather than because it's full.

[vbitz]

You could make the bin chew with it's mouth closed and just vibrate in time with chewing. Might also help to settle some of the material.

[phobosanomaly]

Maybe try feeding it some baking soda every now and then to knock-down the odors?

Edit: Activated charcoal works too! It can be found at pet stores.

[tommymachine]

Decrease closing speed

[saalweachter]

Hmm, you could install a small fan that kicks on when the drawer is open/closed to pull air from the interior and exhaust it into an adjacent airspace, maybe through a filter if that adjacent airspace is still the room you are in.

[MaxLeiter]

Make a lid that goes over the top of the trash so it's contained when pulled out. Manually removing the lid (or however you modify it) will be less dramatic than opening the drawer.

[staticautomatic]

Have the lid slide or pivot to open laterally?

[Sophistifunk]

Take out the trash?

[wgrover]

Ah, good point. I was imagining office waste like paper, but if you're putting in kitchen scraps and dirty diapers, ignore my suggestion...

[tintor]

or just make it play "chewing" sound :)

[mensetmanusman]

Maybe it should shake an attached appendage instead. Like a tongue!

[tchaffee]

Or just take out the trash more often.