Kitchen Trash Cans

The best dual-compartment recycling trash cans

Most households generate more recycling than trash, which is why an even fifty-fifty split is usually the wrong shape. Six recyclers compared.

By Ryder M. · Last reviewed September 27, 2026

Separate waste containers for recycling and general trash

Lid & Liner is reader-supported. If you buy through a link on this page we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we rank first — how we pick and how we make money.

The short answer

The simplehuman 58L Step Recycler if you want two streams behind one lid, and the Joseph Joseph Totem Max 60L if you need three — because the third stream, food waste, is the one that actually smells.

#	Product	Best for	Price
01	simplehuman 58L Step RecyclerThe cleanest answer to trash-plus-recycling in one unit: two compartments behind a single lid and a single pedal.	Best dual-compartment overall	$148.00 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
02	Joseph Joseph Totem Max 60L Waste and Recycling UnitTrash, recycling and food waste in a single tower footprint, with replaceable carbon filters for the odor.	Best three-stream sorting	$259.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
03	Joseph Joseph Totem Compact 40L Waste and Recycling UnitThe Totem shrunk for a small kitchen, keeping the food caddy and the carbon filters.	Best small-kitchen recycler	$183.99 · View on Amazon $230.00 · 20% off · Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
04	Ninestars DZT-70-11R Dual Compartment Motion Sensor Recycler, 18.5 GallonSeventy litres split two ways under one sensor lid, at roughly a third of what the premium recyclers cost.	Best budget recycler	Check price on Amazon #ad How we make money
05	simplehuman 45L Butterfly Step CanThe can to buy when there is a counter, shelf or windowsill directly above where the trash has to live.	Best for tight lid clearance	$179.99 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money
06	simplehuman 15L Mini RecyclerA two-compartment bin small enough for a studio kitchen, an office, or a bathroom that needs paper separated out.	Best small dual bin	$110.00 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

How we picked

Three criteria on top of the usual mechanism checks. First, how the volume is split, because an even split is rarely what a household needs. Second, whether food waste is handled separately — that is the fraction that generates odor, and a recycler that ignores it is solving the easy half of the problem. Third, liner practicality: two compartments means two bags, and if they take different codes that is a running annoyance. Methodology.

The picks in full

01 — Best dual-compartment overall

simplehuman 58L Step Recycler

The cleanest answer to trash-plus-recycling in one unit: two compartments behind a single lid and a single pedal.

Total capacity: 58 liters / 15.3 gallons
Compartments: Two, behind a single lid
Lid: Soft-close, damped

Most dual-compartment cans make you choose which side to open. This one opens both at once, which sounds trivial until you are holding a rinsed can in one hand and a wrapper in the other. The split is asymmetric on some configurations, which is correct — most households generate more recycling than trash, not an even fifty-fifty.

What we'd flag: two compartments means two liners, and the compartments take different liner codes. Read the code letters molded inside before you order bags, or you will buy the wrong size twice.

$148.00 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

02 — Best three-stream sorting

Joseph Joseph Totem Max 60L Waste and Recycling Unit

Trash, recycling and food waste in a single tower footprint, with replaceable carbon filters for the odor.

Total capacity: 60 liters / 15.9 gallons
Compartments: 2 x 30 L plus a 3 L removable food caddy
Odor control: Replaceable activated carbon filters
Layout: Vertically stacked

The second-generation Totem arranges its two 30-liter compartments vertically, so a unit handling three waste streams takes the floor space of one can. The removable 3-liter food caddy is the piece most recyclers get wrong — scraps are what actually smells, and here they sit in a small container you can carry straight to the outside bin. The integrated carbon filters are replaceable rather than sealed in.

What we'd flag: a vertical stack means the lower compartment is at floor level. If you have a bad back, emptying the bottom bucket is a genuine consideration, not a detail.

$259.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

03 — Best small-kitchen recycler

Joseph Joseph Totem Compact 40L Waste and Recycling Unit

The Totem shrunk for a small kitchen, keeping the food caddy and the carbon filters.

Total capacity: 40 liters / 10.6 gallons
Compartments: 2 x 20 L plus a 3 L removable food caddy
Odor control: Replaceable activated carbon filters

Two 20-liter compartments plus the 3-liter caddy is the smallest genuinely three-stream unit we found. In an apartment where the alternative is a bag of recycling propped by the door, that is a meaningful upgrade.

What we'd flag: 20 liters per stream means frequent emptying, and the compact body makes the lower compartment tighter to get a hand into than the Max.

$183.99 · View on Amazon

$230.00 · 20% off · Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

04 — Best budget recycler

Ninestars DZT-70-11R Dual Compartment Motion Sensor Recycler, 18.5 Gallon

Seventy litres split two ways under one sensor lid, at roughly a third of what the premium recyclers cost.

Total capacity: 18.5 gallons / 70 liters
Dimensions: 13" L x 21.3" W x 26.2" H
Weight: 11.5 lb empty
Compartments: Two, semi-round body
Power: 4 x D batteries (not included)
Bag compatibility: Standard bags both sides, removable ring liners

If the goal is simply to stop recycling piling up on the counter, this does it. Two buckets, one sensor-opened lid, standard bags in both sides — no code letters, no proprietary liners. It is also the largest can Ninestars makes in this style, which matters for a recycler: splitting a body in two halves the useful volume of each side, so starting from 70 litres rather than 50 is the difference between emptying one side every day and every two.

What we'd flag: 70 litres split two ways is about 35 a side, so treat the stated 18.5 gallons as a total rather than as two large bins. The semi-round body is also 21 inches wide, which is a lot of wall for a kitchen that was tight to begin with.

Check price on Amazon

#ad How we make money

05 — Best for tight lid clearance

simplehuman 45L Butterfly Step Can

The can to buy when there is a counter, shelf or windowsill directly above where the trash has to live.

Capacity: 45 liters / 11.9 gallons
Lid: Split butterfly, folds outward
Clearance needed: Inches rather than a full lid swing

A normal step can needs roughly a foot of clear air above it for the lid to swing. The butterfly lid splits down the middle and folds outward, so the clearance it needs is a few inches. In a kitchen where the only free floor is under an overhang, that is the difference between a can that works and one that scrapes the underside of the counter every time you open it.

What we'd flag: two lid halves means two hinges, and hinges are what fail on step cans. It is a more complex mechanism solving a problem most kitchens do not have.

$179.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

06 — Best small dual bin

simplehuman 15L Mini Recycler

A two-compartment bin small enough for a studio kitchen, an office, or a bathroom that needs paper separated out.

Total capacity: 15 liters / 4 gallons
Compartments: Two

Apartment kitchens rarely have room for a 58-liter recycler, and the usual fallback — a second loose bin shoved somewhere — is what makes small kitchens look chaotic. Fifteen liters split two ways is genuinely small, but it is sorted, lidded, and matches the rest of the range.

What we'd flag: at roughly 7.5 liters a side you will be emptying the recycling compartment every couple of days. This is a tidiness product, not a capacity one.

$110.00 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

Work out your split before you buy

This is worth five minutes and it will change which can you buy. For one week, keep your recycling in a separate bag or crate and notice which fills first. Most households find recycling fills roughly twice as fast as trash, because modern packaging is bulky, dry and mostly recyclable.

What you find	What to buy	Why
Recycling fills about twice as fast	An asymmetric split, larger side for recycling	An even split means emptying one side constantly
They fill at roughly the same rate	An even two-compartment can	The standard configuration is right for you
Food scraps are most of the weight	A three-stream unit with a food caddy	The wet fraction is what smells; isolate it
Recycling goes to an outdoor crate anyway	A single-compartment can, full size	A recycler would halve your trash capacity for nothing

That last row is the case people get wrong most often. If your municipality collects commingled recycling from an outdoor bin and you carry it straight out, a dual-compartment kitchen can gives you a half-size trash can in exchange for nothing. Buy a full-size single can and a countertop caddy for the scraps instead.

Food waste is the part that matters

Separating paper from plastic does nothing for how your kitchen smells. Separating food scraps does almost everything, because the odor compounds people object to — putrescine from protein, hydrogen sulfide from eggs and brassicas — are produced by bacteria working on wet organic material, and that material is a small fraction of the volume in a kitchen can.

Two ways to handle it. A three-stream unit like the Totem has a sealed 3-liter caddy built in, which is tidy and means one object rather than two. Or run a separate countertop compost bin, which is cheaper, easier to wash, and can sit where you actually chop rather than across the room — the reason people abandon compost bins is almost always that the bin is too far from the board. If you have narrowed it to one brand, the best Joseph Joseph trash cans goes through the Totem range in detail.

If you go the separate-caddy route, these are the two worth considering — one for cleanability, one for odor control.

Best overall compost bin

OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin, 1.75 Gallon

The countertop compost bin that is actually easy to clean, because the inner bucket comes out and goes in the dishwasher.

$29.77 · View on Amazon

$37.99 · 22% off · Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

Best odor control

Epica Stainless Steel Compost Bin, 1.3 Gallon

Stainless steel with a genuine replaceable charcoal filter — the compost bin to buy if smell is the reason you stopped composting.

$29.98 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 14, 2026. #ad How we make money

If you were looking at a Totem

Joseph Joseph's Totem is the best-known two-stream tower and it runs on its own liners. Joseph Joseph Totem alternatives lists the recyclers that do the same job without the proprietary bag.

Common questions

Are dual compartment trash cans worth it?

If you sort recycling in the kitchen, yes — one object and one footprint instead of two. If your recycling goes straight to an outdoor crate, no: you are halving your trash capacity for no benefit. Work out your split first.

What size dual compartment can do I need?

Treat the headline figure as a total, not per side. A 58-liter recycler gives you roughly 29 liters a side, which is well under a standard 13-gallon can. If you currently fill a 13-gallon can, you want 58 liters or more.

Can you use normal bags in a dual compartment can?

In the budget cans, yes — the Ninestars dual takes standard bags both sides. simplehuman and Joseph Joseph units take code-lettered or fitted liners, and on simplehuman the two compartments can take different codes. Read the codes molded inside before ordering.

Which recycling can handles food waste?

The Joseph Joseph Totem range, which includes a removable 3-liter food caddy alongside its two main compartments. Everything else here handles two dry streams only, so food waste needs a separate countertop bin.

Do recycling cans smell less than a single trash can?

Only if the food waste goes somewhere else. Separating paper from plastic changes nothing about odor. Isolating the wet organic fraction changes almost everything. The full odor sequence.

Sources

Every specification on this page traces to one of these, checked at the time of writing. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, the page says so rather than estimating it.

The short answer

How we picked

The picks in full

simplehuman 58L Step Recycler

Joseph Joseph Totem Max 60L Waste and Recycling Unit

Joseph Joseph Totem Compact 40L Waste and Recycling Unit

Ninestars DZT-70-11R Dual Compartment Motion Sensor Recycler, 18.5 Gallon

simplehuman 45L Butterfly Step Can

simplehuman 15L Mini Recycler

Work out your split before you buy

Food waste is the part that matters

OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin, 1.75 Gallon

Epica Stainless Steel Compost Bin, 1.3 Gallon

If you were looking at a Totem

Common questions

Are dual compartment trash cans worth it?

What size dual compartment can do I need?

Can you use normal bags in a dual compartment can?

Which recycling can handles food waste?

Do recycling cans smell less than a single trash can?

Sources

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