Hubby How To: DIY Kitchen Recycling/Trash Cabinet

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Looking to find a way to hide recycling bins in your kitchen?! Some of us don’t have enough space in existing cabinets, so here’s a creative idea to build a DIY kitchen recycling/trash cabinet. This post covers the tools, materials, and how-to for a stand-alone enclosure that makes an eyesore turn into a piece of functional furniture!

Updated 9/26/2023

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If you lack cabinet space or have an older home, then you likely struggle to find a good place to store your recycling bins and trash can in your kitchen. One of the best ways to make recycling actually work is to sort your recyclables. Unfortunately, this usually means multiple bins and that can be an eyesore if you have no place to house them. That’s why we developed this awesome system for hiding recycling bins in a kitchen that looks good, too!

In this Hubby How-To, we’ll show you the steps to building one of your own DIY kitchen recycling/trash cabinet. We’ve come up with three different design aesthetics for the exterior frame paired with a linkage system and foot bar that will open the enclosure hands-free. You get to pick what frame design suits you best. 

Check Out Our Build Video For This Project

Three Frame Designs For Kitchen Recycling/Trash Cabinet

As mentioned, we created three different exterior frame designs for this kitchen recycling/trash cabinet: Plywood Panel Frame, Wavy Layered Frame, & Shaker-Style Frame

showing the three different frame design options for the Kitchen Recycling/Trash Cabinet

Fair warning, this is a long post since it contains all three design instructions. So once you decide on which design you prefer, make sure to skip past the other two.

Tools & Materials

Personally, I hate calling this design a “trash” anything because we do our best to reduce our waste and have minimal “trash” that goes to the landfill. So it’s utilized more as a recycling station in our home. But we all have bins that need hiding in our kitchen, so here’s what you need to make your own beautiful cabinet that looks like a piece of furniture instead of an eyesore.

DIY Plans

Tools

Plywood Panel Frame Design

Wavy Layered Frame Design

Shaker-Style Frame Design

Finishing

Materials

Kitchen Recycling/Trash Cabinet Build Process

Step 1: Make a Plan. Or Better Yet, Get a Plan!

The first step to any build is to know what you are building. Luckily for you, we’ve already done the hard work of figuring out exactly what you need and what dimensions are required in order to make the linkage work properly. If you haven’t picked up a plan set yet, you can find them at either our Site Shop or on Etsy.

This plan set includes plans for three design aesthetics, along with detailed engineering drawings for each part and assembly. We designed this enclosure to house three bins and maximize the use of standard size boards and sheets. If you want to make yours to different dimensions, then you can easily mark up the plan set or email us at amanda@biglivinglittlefootprint.com, and we can help you with your changes.

Step 2: Get The Materials

Included in the DIY plan set, you will find a materials list that breaks down 3 different design aesthetics for the exterior look of the enclosure. Print off this list and circle the column for the design you are going to make. Now you have a handy dandy shopping list to take to the local store.

Choose Your Exterior Frame  Design

If you are making the Plywood Panel Frame or the Shaker Style Frame, then I highly recommend that you make a trip to your local hardwood dealer and pick up some nicer quality wood for this project. Both of these frames really feature the wood and have large flat surfaces where better quality wood will make a big impact on the final product. 

The Wavy Layer Frame, on the other hand, focuses on the handmade texture and pattern that you are creating rather than the wood itself. You can certainly still use nicer quality wood, but some of its appeal will be lost in the busyness of the pattern. This is especially true if you plan to stain it. In this case, you may be better off buying softwood boards. This is the route we took on this DIY project.

Buying From A Hardwood Dealer

If you’ve never bought wood from a hardwood dealer, then spend some time researching how wood is purchased. Plywood is bought by the sheet just like any big box store, but boards are bought in units of board feet. To make this easier, consider using a board foot calculator online or an app on your phone to help you get only as much as you need. 

Hubby Tip: Unless you have the tools needed to surface the boards at home, we recommend buying S3S lumber so that it is ready for use. Even if you do have the tools, pre-surfaced boards can save you a lot of time in the shop and the cost difference is usually marginal.

Now with all of the lumber, the next step involves building the kitchen recycling/trash cabinet’s frame. Scroll down to the section pertaining to the Frame option you have chosen for specific instructions.

Design Aesthetic 1 – Plywood Panel Frame

Step 3.1: Cut The Panels Down To Rough Size

The first thing to do is cut the plywood into panels. If you are going to be doing this with a jig saw or track saw only, then you can layout your lines and cut the panels to their final dimensions right now. 

If you are going to use a table saw, then I recommend using a jigsaw or similar tool to rough cut out an oversized panel first. This will make it much easier to work with on the table saw. Just ensure you leave yourself at least one factory edge to reference with the fence. Remember in order to go this route, you need to be able to set the fence to 27”. If you can’t set it to that width, then you are better off cutting the panels to their final size with handheld power tools. 

Step 3.2: Cut Panels To Final Size On The Table Saw

If you cut the panels to their final dimension earlier, then you can skip this step. Otherwise, it’s time to bring the oversized panels over to the table saw to clean them up. 

If your table saw can accommodate large panels, then start with the factory edge against the fence and clean up the jigsaw edge. Then flip the panel around and cut off the factory edge in order to achieve the final dimensions. Finally, use a crosscut sled to trim the remaining two edges on the panels.

Hubby Tip: Try to batch the panels together based on common dimensions so that you can set your fence or stop block once and make sure that all of the panels are the same dimension. 

Step 3.3: Add Edge Banding (Optional)

If you like the look of plywood edges, then you can skip this step. If you don’t, then you’ll want to apply some edge banding. You can buy rolls of edge banding to apply, or cut thin strips to make your own. If you bought an uncommon plywood, then you’ll likely need to make your own to ensure it will match. The table saw makes this pretty easy. Just be careful cutting such small pieces. 

Once you have the edge banding, glue it to the panel pieces. Bandy clamps work well here, but painter’s tape will work just as well. Once the glue is dry, trim the edge banding to match the face of the panel and you’ll be ready to go!

Step 3.4: Lightly Sand Your Panels

Next, you’ll want to go ahead and sand the panels now, since it is easier to do while the panels are disassembled. Most plywoods are already pretty smooth so you don’t need to go through all of the grits. In fact, starting at a low grit is usually a bad idea as you could quickly sand through the veneer. 

Instead, only use 180 grit sandpaper and just give everything a light pass. I like to use a pencil to scribble a line all over the piece. Then I sand until the line is gone. This way, I know that the piece has been fully sanded, and I don’t miss a spot or linger too long in one place.

Step 3.5: Finish your Panels

Now it’s time to apply the finish to the parts as it’s easier when disassembled. We highly recommend Rubio Monocoat’s Oil Plus 2C, especially if you picked a nicer veneer plywood. Check out our Rubio Monocoat Review for some examples of color and wood species combinations along with instructions on how to apply it.

Step 3.6: Assemble The Panels

Next, it’s time to assemble the panels. There are a couple of different options here, but the easiest is to add pocket screws and a little bit of glue. 

Make A Pocket Hole Without A Jig

Now you may think you need a fancy pocket hole jig to make pocket screws, but you can easily do it by hand. 

  1. Find a spot about an inch away from your edge on the inside face of your side panel. Start with an ⅛” pilot hole bit. 
  2. Drill into the panel slightly. Just enough to get the drill bit started. 
  3. While still drilling, tilt the drill down until it is almost touching the face of your panel and is pointing at the edge. 
  4. Then continue drilling the rest of the way through. Tada, you now have an angled guide hole for your screw to follow!

If you want to make sure the screw is recessed, then grab a larger size drill bit and drill out the beginning of the pilot hole. This gives the head of the screw an opening to sit into keeping it recessed inside the panel. Just be careful that you drill at a steep enough angle so you don’t break through the edge. And double-check that your screws aren’t too long they break out of the front panel’s face.

Once the pilot holes are drilled, you’re ready to assemble. It can be helpful here, to use clamps or corner blocks to keep everything tight and square while you drive in the pocket screws. 

Tada! You have a frame! Now jump down to Step 4 to continue the build process.

Design Aesthetic 2 – Wavy Layered Frame

Step 3.1: Cut Boards To Length

The first step to building the Wavy Layered Frame is to cut the boards to length. I recommend you do this by setting up a stop block on the table saw or miter saw in order to quickly and easily get repeatable cuts. 

If you don’t have those tools, then you’ll need to measure each one and cut the boards by hand. Just make sure to use a square to help ensure the cuts are straight and square. 

The layout for these boards was designed to utilize every bit of a 96” board and assumes you are using an ⅛” saw blade. Our DIY plans have a cut guide in them to help you maximize the board usage. 

If you bought S3S lumber for this project, you’ll then need to set the fence and rip each board to its final width on the table saw. 

Step 3.2: Cut Wavy Pattern

Once you have the stack of boards, it is time to cut the wavy strips. Start by marking the center point of the end of each board. You want to make sure that the wavy cuts start and end at this center point in order to make joining them up easier later. 

You can do this wavy cut with a jig saw, but I highly recommend using a band saw for this. Even a low-powered bandsaw makes quick work of this task. The trick is to have a large blade with a low tooth count to speed up the ripping process. We are using a ½” blade with 4 TPI.

As you’re cutting, make sure you are alternating the pattern and not falling into a repeatable rhythm. You don’t want all of the layers to look the same. Repeat this cut on each of the boards until you have a giant pile of wavy sticks.

Step 3.3: Sand Wavy Pattern

Next, carry the pile of wavy sticks over to your belt sander. You’ll definitely want a benchtop belt sander here as doing all of this sanding by hand would take forever.

Use the end roller of the belt sander to sand out the wavy face and remove any band saw blade marks. I recommend then holding the piece at an angle and running it down the front roller again to knock off the corner and give it a slight chamfer. 

It helps to do at least two passes. I would recommend an initial pass at about 80 grit to remove the saw marks and refine the shape. Then do a final full pass at around 180 grit to smooth the wavy surface and top and bottom faces so they are ready for finishing. 

Step 3.4: Attach Front and Side Pieces

With all of the wavy pieces sanded, it is time to start making the layers. You want to ensure you have a constant inside dimension for each layer. Do this by measuring and marking each long piece to know where your short pieces will join up. Or you can cut a spacer piece to the length of your inside dimension and use that to ensure your short pieces are always the same distance apart. 

To join each of these layers, a bit of glue should be good enough. Given the odd face and length, the best way to hold these parts in place while gluing is by using tape. Make sure to pull the tape tight as you are applying it. This way you still get that clamping force you need for a strong glue joint. 

Then put these layers on a flat surface to dry. If you are unsure if you are getting a good glue joint, you can always reinforce this joint with pocket screws. See our advice above in Step 3.6 of the Plywood Panel Frame for an explanation on how to make pocket screws without a jig. 

Step 3.5: Remove Corner From Layer

After the glue has dried, take each of these layers back over to the band saw and cut off the corner of each one. The trick here is to ensure the rounded corner you cut is tangent to the wavy patterns you made earlier. This way the waves smoothly transition around the corner and into the next set of waves. 

After this corner is cut, you might need to take it back over to the belt sander to clean up this cut and prepare it for finishing.

Step 3.6: Apply Finish

Before fully assembling the layers, you’ll want to first put finish on them. It is much easier to do this now before everything is assembled than later as it is difficult to get finish into the cracks between each layer. 

Grab your chosen finish and apply it as the manufacturer recommends. We used a Miniwax Stain in the Jacobean color on our kitchen recycling station.

Step 3.7: Assemble Layers

After all of the pieces are dry, it is time to assemble the layers. I would recommend not using glue here as you don’t want to have to clean up glue squeeze out. Instead, align each layer, pre-drill a hole in each of the three members, and then drive a screw into each hole. Make sure you alternate where you are drilling the holes so you don’t drive one screw into another one instead of into wood.

However, for the top layer, I do recommend using a small amount of glue and then doing pocket screws from the second from top layer up into the top layer. This creates a good bond without visible screws in the top surface. You especially want to apply a dot of glue near where you will be placing threaded fasteners for the linkage later so it can withstand the forces being applied.

 Tada! You have a frame! Now jump down to step 4 to continue the build process.

Design Aesthetic 3 – Shaker Style Panel Frame

Step 3.1: Cut Boards To Length

Start by cutting the boards to length. The design is set up so you can get one Front Frame Piece and two Side Frame pieces from an 8-foot board. Then you can cut all of the Vertical Frame pieces from a single board. 

Bring the boards over to the miter saw or table saw, set up a stop block, and cut all of the pieces to length. Be sure to alternate between boards so you only have to set up the stop block once for each size piece. 

Step 3.2: Cut Slot For Inner Panel

Next, bring all of the frame pieces over to the table saw because it’s time to add a dado slot for the inner panel to sit in. First, raise the blade height to create a ½” deep slot. Then set the fence so the blade is as close as you can get to the middle of the board. Run each board through at this setting to make the first pass for the slot. 

Now move the fence out a hair and run one of the boards though. This widens the slot on one side. Then flip the piece around and run it through again to widen the slot on the second side. Now check to see how close this slot is to fitting the inner panel. Adjust the fence a hair and repeat this process until you have a good snug fit.

Step 3.3: Cut Rabbets In Vertical Pieces

After the slots are done, you are going to make the rabbets for the Vertical Frame Pieces. The rabbets allow the Front and Side Frame pieces to fit into the slot. To do this, start by putting the larger face on the table saw surface and lower the blade until the top of the blade just barely contacts the lower edge of the slot. This way you know that when you cut the rabbets, they will create a tab that fits well into the slots.

Next, set the fence so the deepest you cut the tabs is the same as the depth of the slot you cut earlier. 

Once this is all setup, you are going to put the edge of the vertical piece against your miter guage, push it over until the end of the piece touches your fence, and make a cut.  Then move the piece away from the fence a blade width, make another cut, and repeat until you have cut the full rabbet. 

If the blade doesn’t have a flat top grind tooth, then you’ll want to walk the piece towards and away from the fence while holding it over the blade in order to remove ridges. Or you can use a chisel or sanding block to remove the bumps afterward.

Step 3.4: Cut Inner Panels

Next, grab the sheet of plywood and cut it down into smaller pieces to fit into the Shaker Style Frames. These thinner plywood sheets are usually pretty light and easy to manage so you can cut this directly on the table saw. However, you might consider having a friend help you keep the board tight against the fence for the first few cuts. 

Step 3.5: Assemble the Panels

You are now ready to assemble the panels. Assembly is pretty easy for these types of panels. You want to glue the rabbets of the Vertical Pieces into the dado of one of the Front or Side Pieces. Once you have two Vertical Pieces in place, slide in the Inner Panel of plywood and then glue in the final Front or Side Piece in place.

Some people don’t recommend gluing this inner panel into place. This is because the wood is likely to expand and contract while the plywood should stay mostly stable. I didn’t know this rule back when I first made panels this way for some cabinet doors and I’ve never had a problem with them warping. 

So take that advice with a grain of salt and go with whatever you feel comfortable with. If you elect not to glue it, but the dado slot is too loose and the panel can rattle around, then you can always drive a small finishing nail into the back side to secure the panel and prevent it from rattling. 

Once the panels are made, you may want to go ahead and cut the openings for the Foot Bar Linkage

Step 3.6: Sand the Panels

After the glue has dried, give the panels a quick sanding to clean them up. Since you are doing this after assembly, you may need to hand sand some tricky corners. But this will also clean up any glue squeeze out so it doesn’t show up in your finish. 

I recommend you water pop between grits so that if there is any glue squeeze out you missed, it will become quite obvious. Sand the frame from 80 to 180 grit and sand the inner panel just with 180 grit. If you are using Rubio Monocoat, then you don’t need to go any further than this. And if you are using 3M Xtract Sandpaper this will already feel amazingly smooth. 

Step 3.7: Finish the Panels

While these panels are still flat, it’s a good idea to go ahead and finish them. We highly recommend applying Rubio Monocoat’s Oil Plus 2C. If you are going to go this route, then first prepare your panels for finishing by vacuuming off any dust from sanding and wiping the pieces down with mineral spirits. You’ll need to give the pieces a day to dry fully before you apply the Ruibo, but you can accelerate this by setting up a fan to blow across the pieces.

 Mix up and measure out your finish and apply it. For more information on this application procedure, check out our Rubio Monocoat Review.

Step 3.8: Assemble the Frame

Once the finish is dry, it is finally time to assemble the frame. I recommend using pocket hole screws to secure the panels from the inside without having any hardware visible from the outside. See our advice in Step 3.6 of the Plywood Panel Frame for an explanation of how to make pocket screws without a jig. 

All Designs – Linkage Assembly

Step 4: Cut The Back and Lid Support Strips 

Alright! You’ve made three sides of your chosen frame and you’re ready to proceed, right? Good!

The rest of this process is the same for all three of the design aesthetics. You’re going to start by cutting the Back and Lid Support Strips, and the Lid Stiffener. If you are going to put a trash can inside that already has a foot pedal, then cut out the Trash Can Actuator strips and a couple of various-sized blocks as well that you can use to ensure the linkage also opens that trash can.

All these pieces can be made from solid wood boards if you have some laying around. Since you need plywood for the linkage pieces, I recommend you just use that. Grab a small sheet of plywood and rip a few strips to width and then cut them to length. There’s nothing too challenging about these pieces. Just make sure you have at least one clean long edge for the Lid and Back Panel to sit on.

Step 5: Cut The Linkage Strips 

Next, you are going to cut the linkage strips. I recommend you use plywood for these pieces. They will experience a fair bit of force when being actuated. If these are made from solid wood, then they can shear along the grain lines between the hole and the end of the piece. You need the strength that alternating grains of plywood give here.

Hubby Tip: If you have, say a bunch of off-cut strips from building a Massive Headboard because you hoard offcuts like any perfectly normal woodworker would, then those would work really well here.

This process is going to be just like the previous step. Simply rip some strips to width and then cut them to length. Before you cut them to length though, first inspect the edges of the plywood. If you see a void that is near one of the ends where we will be putting a hole, then you’ll want to cut that void off if you can so you don’t weaken the joint.

Finally, you need to profile the ends of the strips a little bit so they can pivot more easily in the assembly. Trace out a half circle and then cut it out on the bandsaw.

For the Foot Bar Linkage, you are going to add a small recess cut for the Foot Bar to sit flush in the wood. This can also be done on the bandsaw.

Step 6: Cut your Back and Lid Panels 

The Back and Lid Panels were designed to utilize a  2’ x 4’ sheet of plywood to make it easier. You can ultimately save some money if you buy a larger sheet and cut it down if you have a use for the rest of the sheet or if you made the shaker-style frame.

Once you have the sheets, use the table saw or jigsaw to trim them to their final dimensions. 

Step 7: Drill Holes For Bolts and Threaded Inserts

With all of the pieces cut, you can start drilling holes. Start by referencing the hole locations on your set of plans and then carefully mark them out. Measure the spacings as accurately as you can here. Once they are marked, use a center punch or a nail and hammer to make an indent at the center of every mark. 

Next, use a drill block and an ⅛” bit to drill a pilot hole. Do not drill all the way through the frame. Use a stop collar if you have one or tape if you don’t. Then work your way up to larger drill bits and drill the holes to their final sizes. The shoulder bolts have a 5/16” shoulder and the threaded inserts require a 23/64” hole. Verify those dimensions for what the manufacturer stated for hardware first.

Step 8: Sand Everything

It’s now time to start the finishing process for the linkage. As always, finishing starts with sanding. Start with a rougher grit on the edges of the thicker plywood pieces to remove any saw marks and work your way up to 180 grit. Once at 180 grit, sand the faces of the plywood as well. It shouldn’t take much to get a good finish on these linkage parts. Finally, use a sanding block or sandpaper to go around the edges of the pieces to smooth them over and prevent splinters.

Step 9: Apply Finish To Linkage Pieces

Now it’s time to apply the finish. For the lid, you definitely want to make sure to match the finish of your frame, or intentionally contrast it. For the rest of the small pieces, you can go with your finish of choice. Plywood edges can be very thirsty and soak up a lot of finish, so keep that in mind if you decide to use a more expensive product like Rubio

Step 10: Assemble Linkage

First up is assembling the linkage system. This all starts by driving some threaded fasteners into the required holes. Use a drop of super glue on the threads of each fastener to ensure it stays in the wood and doesn’t try to unthread over time.

You can then attach the Foot Linkage Bars and Lid Pivot Blocks to the Frame using the shoulder bolts. If you have Loctite, it may be a good idea to add some to these threads to keep them from unthreading as the kitchen recycling station gets used. If you don’t, then you can use super glue here as well.

With those in place, attach the Linkage Arms to the Lid Pivot Blocks and Foot Linkage Bars using the last of the shoulder bolts. Once these are in place, you should have a functioning linkage system!

Step 11: Attach The Lid

Next is attaching the Lid to the Lid Pivot Blocks. Unfortunately, the best way to do this is with a couple of 1.5” screws from the top face of the lid, down into the Lid Support Blocks. It isn’t as pretty, but it is a strong joint. Just make sure to angle your screws or place them so that they avoid the shoulder bolts. And ensure you drill a pilot hole! The last thing you want to do is split the pivot block.

Alternatively, you can try sanding the finish off of the underside of the Lid and the edge of the Lid Support Block and gluing it first if you would rather. Whichever way you go, make sure you position the Lid so you have a constant gap between it and the three sides of the frame.

Add Supports

Once the Lid is in place, add the Lid Support Strip and the Lid Stiffener. For the Lid Support, the best way to do this and get a good fit is to climb inside the box. Without the back panel on, this is much easier. Verify that the lid is sitting flush with the top of the frame, place the Support Strip up against the underside of the Lid, and then screw it into place. 

For the Lid Stiffener, I do recommend attaching this with glue. This piece is just to keep the lid from bowing when the linkage is actuated or if something gets set on top of the lid. Position the Lid Stiffener on the Lid so it sits between the two Pivot Blocks. Mark this location on the Lid, and then give the top face of the Lid Stiffener at the marked location on the lid a quick sanding. This doesn’t have to be perfect. Just enough to roughen up the surface. Finally, spread a bead of glue and clamp the Stiffener in place to dry. 

Step 12: Attach Back Panel

Attaching the Back Panel is pretty easy. First, attach the Back Support strips to the frame with some 1.25” screws. Just make sure to recess them in from the edge so the Back Panel sits flush with the back edge of the Frame. Then put the Back Panel in place and secure it with a few more screws. Since you are so close to the edge and are drilling into the edge of plywood, make sure you pre-drill a pilot hole for the screw so nothing splits. 

Step 13: Cut Foot Bar 

Now you just need to make the Foot Bar. This foot bar was designed to use a standard length of angle iron. You just have to cut it to length. If you don’t have a metal cutting setup, an angle grinder or hacksaw will work great for this step. 

Step 14: Paint Foot Bar

Once the Foot Bar is cut, I recommend giving it a coat of paint to prevent it from rusting. We painted ours with Rustoleum Metallic Silver so it still appeared like metal. Once painted, you can improve the durability of the finish by adding a clear coat to the piece as well.

Step 15: Attach Foot Bar

To attach the Foot Bar, you are going to use two more 1.5” screws. I originally tried epoxy here, but it eventually popped off. So to make the screws less visible, you are going to install them from the front face of the Foot Bar. 

Start by marking your position and then drilling a pilot hole. Then move to a larger size drill bit that the screw can fit through and finish by adding a counter sink to recess the screw head. Lastly, drive in the screws and test to make sure the linkage works as intended.

Hubby Tip: When drilling into metal, you usually want to set the drill to its lower speed so you get chips instead of crumbs. If you are getting a loud squeaking noise or the bit is getting too hot, stop and use some lubricant. If you force the bit and it gets too hot, you will cause it to dull prematurely. 

Adjusting the Opening Extents

With the footbar in place, you can now check that the Linkage works as intended. What you’ll find is the linkage is designed to fully open the lid.  If there is no wall behind the kitchen recycling/trash cabinet, it may open up past vertical and make it unable to close automatically.

In order to set the open position for the kitchen trash/recycling station, I added two screws to the bottom side of the Foot Bar Linkage. I can then screw or unscrew these two screws until the lid stops where I want it to. In our case, we have a shelf above our station that we did not want the lid to hit. So I had my two screws backed out about an inch. It will take a little trial and error to determine your preferred position, but this gives you good control of the final opened lid position. 

Step 16: Add Optional Can Actuation Strips

If you have a can inside this station that has a foot pedal, then it would be a good idea to add a Trash Can Actuation Strip to the Linkage. Take the strip you cut earlier and position it so it is above the foot pedal of the trash can. You may need to mark this position and then remove the trash can so you can actually get in there to screw it in place. Pre-drill a few pilot holes first and then drive in a few screws. 

Reinstall your trash can and test to see if the Linkage now actuates the trash can as well. If it does then you are all set. If it doesn’t, or if it only partially actuates the trash can, then you can add a block to the underside of the Trash Can Actuation Strip. The goal is the bottom of the Linkage’s motion correlates to the bottom of the motion for the trash can’s foot pedal. This way, both lids open fully when you step on the Foot Bar. It may help to open both lids and take a measurement to see just how big of a block you need. 

Finally, add another strip behind the trash can. This prevents the trash can from shifting backwards over time as its foot pedal gets pressed. Once that’s in place, test your Linkage to ensure everything actuates as you intended. 

Step 17: Install The Bins and Celebrate!

Congratulations! You did it! All that’s left now is to put your recycling bins and trash can into your station. If you want, you can print off nice labels to tape to the underside of the lid, so your guests always know which bin to sort items into! 

Kitchen Recycling/Trash Cabinet - Wavy Layered Design
Showing the Wavy Layered Design details on the Kitchen Recycling/Trash Cabinet

More DIY Projects

Now that you’ve finished this DIY project, you might be ready to start another. So check out more of our DIY projects articles for inspiration!


What do you think of the designs for this kitchen recycling/trash cabinet?! Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please note that I’ve linked to these products purely because I recommend them and they are from companies I trust. There is no additional cost to you.

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