Reduce If You Can't Reuse or Recycle
That’s the idea- reduce when you are unable to repair or recycle something. Here in San Francisco, you can add “compost” to the list- but that’s a kind of recycling or reuse, really. Ultimately, you’ll have trash though, and then you need a place to put it. And if you’re reading this, not just any garbage can is good enough for you! You need something extra. And Base Brands aims to give it to you with their Reduce Compactor Can.
This 40-liter monster can hold plenty of garbage, and do so while looking pretty good- the heavy duty stainless steel construction holds up well, cleans up easily, and is sexy to boot. But the really fun feature is the lid- the unique compactor allows you to manually press down on your garbage safely and hygenically. We were able to fit about twice as much trash in a given bag, saving us money on trash bags and doing a bit to save the planet as well- fewer trash bags equals less waste.
As if that weren’t enough, the foot pedal worked quite well, and stood up to some decent abuse courtesy of our constant stomps. We weren’t quite as big a fan of the inner part of the lid- despite the best efforts of Base Brands, gooey stuff can get around the edges and onto the upper area of the lid, which can be hard to clean. Generally, though, it was pretty straightforward, and we just took a bit of care to ensure that the gunky stuff was towards the bottom before trying to compress the bag. The lid seals nicely and closes pretty quietly, so that you can simply step on the pedal, toss in your stuff, and not worry about any slamming noises. All in all, we couldn’t think of much else we’d want from a garbage can, except perhaps for it to automatically take care of itself. Perhaps next year. Until then, Base Brands offers the Reduce- and at $170 to worry less and use less, it’s worth it.
