Measure First: The Best Pull Out Trash Can for Your Cabinet

A busy Mexican kitchen fills a trash can fast. One afternoon of salsa and guacamole leaves onion skins, cilantro stems, tomato cores, lime rinds and a heap of avocado skins and pits, and a tamalada adds a bag of corn husks nobody used. A pull-out puts that bin inside a base cabinet, right under the counter where you cut, and gets it off the floor.

The hard part is not choosing a brand. It is fitting the cabinet you already have. This guide covers eight pull-out trash cans from Rev-A-Shelf, Knape & Vogt, Hailo (sold as Hafele) and Home Zone Living, sorted by the cabinet each one fits, with the minimum opening each maker or listing states. Where a listing is silent, we say “not stated”.

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Quick verdict: the best pull out trash can for your cabinet

A pull-out is one kind of kitchen trash can. If you have no spare cabinet, or would rather not install anything, our guide to the best kitchen trash can covers step, sensor and touch-top cans that stand on the floor.

Five under-cabinet pull-outs compared

Five standout picks, one for each common cabinet size, with the minimum opening and bins as each maker or listing states them. All eight are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Openings and capacities are as each maker or listing states them; measure your own cabinet and check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best pull out trash can

These eight cover the real choices: one bin or two, a 9-, 12-, 15-, 18- or 21-inch cabinet, a frame that mounts to the floor or the side panels, a cabinet door that pulls the bins out or a handle you pull yourself. Each pick says which cabinet it suits and gives one honest reason to skip it.

How to choose a pull-out for an under-cabinet trash setup

An under cabinet trash pull out is only as good as its fit. These are the points that decide it, in the order we would check them.

Measure the opening, not the cabinet

Cabinets are sold by outside width, so the opening of a “15-inch cabinet” is narrower once you subtract the side panels and any face frame. Measure the clear width between the frame or hinges, the height from the cabinet floor to the underside of any drawer or rail above, and the depth from the back of the door to the back wall. Then compare all three to the maker’s stated minimum. Every pick here states one; that is why they made the list.

Check hinges, pipes and the drawer above

Hinges and their mounting plates stick into the opening and are the most common reason a pull-out will not fit. Under a sink, the drain trap and a garbage disposal take space too, which is why low units like the Hailo Tandem 30 exist. A top drawer cuts the height available; units like the Rev-A-Shelf 50-quart need a full-height cabinet with no drawer at all.

Face frame or frameless

Traditional American cabinets have a face frame around the opening; European-style and many newer cabinets do not. Some units give a different minimum width for each, like the Rev-A-Shelf single (11.5 inches with a frame, 12.25 without). Side-mounted units like the Hailo Euro Cargo attach to the cabinet’s side panels, so they suit frameless boxes.

One bin or two

Two bins let you separate trash from recycling, or keep a bin for food scraps that go to compost, but each bin is smaller. If you already have a kitchen recycling bin elsewhere, one larger can may serve you better than two small ones.

Door-mounted or pulled by hand

Door-mounted pull-outs come out when you open the cabinet door, so you can push it with a hip while your hands are full. That needs brackets: Rev-A-Shelf includes them with the picks here; for the Knape & Vogt units the listings do not say. Hand-pulled units like the Hailo Tandem 30 and the Home Zone Living can are easier to install and remove.

Bags and lids

Few of these listings name a bag size, so measure a bin once it arrives and buy bags to suit; our guide to trash bags can help. Most pull-outs have no lid and rely on the cabinet door to hold in smells, so empty them often when the bin holds shrimp shells or meat trimmings.

How we chose these eight pull-outs

We started from the cabinet sizes most kitchens have, from a 9-inch filler to a full-height 21-inch base, and looked for a pull-out from an established maker for each. Every pick had to state a minimum cabinet opening or cabinet size, be in stock and sold new on Amazon when we checked, and differ from the other picks in a way a buyer would notice: cabinet width, bin count, mounting or capacity. Rev-A-Shelf makes many near-identical units in different colors; we kept three that fit different cabinets.

Every specification comes from the maker’s details on the Amazon listing. We have not installed or used these units ourselves. Our searches did not turn up a comparative review of pull-out trash cans from an independent outlet we could read, so these picks rest on the maker and listing details. We left out several low-cost frames sold under unfamiliar brand names with little maker information, and the simplehuman pull-out, which we already cover on another page.

Under-cabinet trash pull-out questions, answered

Will a pull-out trash can fit under my sink?

Often, but not a full-size one. The drain trap and any disposal take the middle and back of the cabinet. A low, narrow unit such as the Hailo Tandem 30, which is 15-3/4 inches high, can sit to one side. Measure the clear space beside the plumbing, not the whole cabinet. Our guide to under-sink organizers covers the rest of that space.

What size pull-out fits a 15-inch cabinet?

A 15-inch cabinet usually takes a double 35-quart unit like the Rev-A-Shelf 4WCBM-18DM-2, which needs a 14.5-inch opening. If your opening is narrower than that, look at the 12-inch units instead.

What is the difference between bottom-mount and side-mount pull-outs?

Bottom-mount units screw to the cabinet floor and work in most cabinets. Side-mount (or top-mount) units attach to the cabinet’s side panels, which suits frameless cabinets and leaves the floor clear, but they need the panels to be solid and the width to be exact.

Can I add a pull-out trash can to an existing cabinet?

Yes. All eight here are retrofit units that screw into an existing cabinet. You will need a drill, a tape measure and, for door-mounted units, some patience lining up the door. If you would rather turn the cabinet into general storage, see our guide to pull-out cabinet drawers.

Do pull-out trash cans take regular bags?

Most of these listings do not name a bag size. A 35-quart can is just under 9 gallons and a 50-quart can about 12.5 gallons, so look for bags in about that gallon size and check the fit once the bins arrive.

Our final pick for an under-counter bin

Measure first. For a standard 15-inch cabinet, buy the Rev-A-Shelf Double 35-Quart Maple Pullout. Choose the Knape & Vogt Double 27-Quart for a 12-inch cabinet, the Hailo Euro Cargo 45 for an 18-inch cabinet and a lid, the Rev-A-Shelf 50-Quart for a full-height 21-inch cabinet and big cook days, and the Knape & Vogt 20-Quart for a narrow filler.

For freestanding cans, odor control and recycling bins, start at our best kitchen trash can guide. Planning a tamalada? Our guide to tamales explains the dish, husks and all. If you would rather leave the cleanup to us, see our menu and call to order.