I have to admit, I have a bad habit: Whenever I exit a store, when I place my bag of items in the back seat, I toss the receipt back there, as well. I have no idea why I do this and I don’t remember why it started. Sometimes, if I remember (or if my wife says something about it), I’ll hang onto it, only to stuff it into the door compartment. After a few weeks, I have a veritable landfill that I need to clean out.
Don’t let this be you. Instead, invest in a car trash can that will make it super easy to keep your car neat and clean, as well as give you a place to put things like used car cleaning wipes and napkins. These are especially good gifts for new drivers, since it will instill good habits early.
If you want to keep the interior of your car tidy, consider our list of the best options for adding a car trash can to your ride.
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1. Drive Auto Products Car Garbage Can
Pros:- Easy to use, adjustable hanging strap
- Comes with 20 liners
- Doubles as a soft sided cooler
Cons:- No lid
- Strong plastic smell when new
- Hangs in the face of the rear seat passenger when attached to headrest
We first featured this car trash can on our best gifts for car guys post because every car guy will want to keep his car clean. This is a popular, basic option that can be used either as a trash can with the included liners or as a soft sided cooler. Two clips on each side help keep the liners in place, while the adjustable strap makes it easy to deploy on a headrest or a door handle. You can stash the rest of your liners in the side mesh pockets.
It doesn’t close, so your backseat passengers will have to look right at it, but on the whole, it’s a solid option.
Find more Drive Auto Products Car Garbage Can information and reviews here.
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2. Yolu Car Garbage Can
Pros:- Large capacity
- Includes clip to attach it to trim
- Easy-to-operate hinged lid
Cons:- Not the highest quality
- No color options
- Somewhat bulky for smaller footwells
If you’re looking for an option that more closely mirrors something you’d find in your home, this might be the one to consider. This is a simple hinged lid style trash can, basically a shrunk-down version of something you’d buy for your kitchen. Otherwise, this is a no-frills plastic bin, although they do include a small plastic clip for attaching it to trim pieces, if you like.
If you have a small car, this could potentially get in the way of passenger foot space, but for solo commuters, this is a good option.
Find more Yolu Car Garbage Can information and reviews here.
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3. Carbage Can Premium Car Trash Can
Pros:- Floor clip mat keeps can in place
- Leak proof heavy duty plastic
- Bag securing band
Cons:- No lid
- Could take up room in the footwell
- Depending on your car's floor mats, the anchoring system may not fit or may not work correctly
Right of the bat, it’s hard to go wrong with the name of this product. But there’s more than just a clever name behind this idea. First, a band is included to hold your liner of choice in place. Second, a floor mat clip mounting system hold the entire assembly in place. Slip the clip under your floor mat and then clip the garbage can in place and it will remain there as long as your car mat does.
There are a couple of drawbacks. First, if your mats are too thick, it may not lock into place. If your mats are too thin, it may tip when full. Also, there is no lid. Still, these minor quibbles aside, this is a well-considered option and should work for most people.
Find more Carbage Can Premium Car Trash Can information and reviews here.
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4. Meistar Car Trash Can
Pros:- Push close/open lid
- Heavyweight mat with spikes
- Large capacity
Cons:- Middle seat passengers will have to straddle it
- Not convenient to the driver
- May not fit all cars
If you’re looking for an option for the back seat that doesn’t require hanging it in your passengers’ faces, consider this model from Meistar. This car trash can is mounted to a heavyweight mat with spikes on the bottom, meant to grip the upholstery behind your center console. It has a push open lid with a generous three liter capacity. If your passengers tend to mostly be your kids riding in the back seat, this is a perfect choice.
That said, it’s pricier than most models and will require that any middle seat passengers put their feet to either side of it. It’s also not the ideal choice for solo commuters who would have to reach behind them to make use of it. Still, for some applications, it’s just right.
Find more Meistar Car Trash Can information and reviews here.
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5. High Road StashAway Car Trash Can
Pros:- StuffTop lid hides trash
- Waterproof vinyl lining
- Adds storage to rear of center console
Cons:- May not work with all center console designs
- Somewhat fussy installation
- Cord attachment is relatively flimsy
Here’s another option geared toward actually hiding the trash within it. This uses a slotted top through which you can push trash, which is then covered from view. The interior is lined with waterproof vinyl, so you can put half-finished coffees in it without fear, making liner use optional. It’s relatively generous at 1.5 gallons of capacity yet doesn’t erode rear passenger leg room very much at all. Storage pockets line each side for added practicality.
The drawbacks are that the cord which attaches it to the console is not very robust. To that end, due to its size and attachement style, it might not work with every console design.
Find more High Road StashAway Car Trash Can information and reviews here.
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6. Lusso Gear Car Trash Can
Pros:- Designed to attach in multiple places
- Generous capacity
- Waterproof vinyl liner
Cons:- May be too large for smaller cars
- Fairly rigid, which may make installation awkward
- Lid is only a flap that falls closed
This model from Lusso Gear combines several features of other car trash cans on this list into one. The combination of a hanging strap and Velcro pads means you can attach it just about anywhere. It works as well on the center console as it does on the back of a seat and can even be attached to the glove compartment. The capacity is very large, indeed, at 2.5 gallons, all of which is contained in a leakproof vinyl coating. Small clips on either side hold your liners in place, while multiple storage pockets add utility.
That said, the large size may pose a problem for some cars. Even owners of SUVs found this to be slightly awkward to install, but that’s part of the trade-off for this much capacity. The lid merely falls shut, which is somewhere between the properly lidded options and having no lid at all. Unlike the rest of the options on this list, though, you can choose from five different colorways to best match your car’s interior.
Find more Lusso Gear Car Trash Can information and reviews here.
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7. Geekercity Car Trash Can
Pros:- Sits in any cup holder
- Push spring lid
- Easy to deploy multiple units
Cons:- Small capacity
- Takes up a cup holder slot
- No liners included
We originally included this option on our best gifts for new drivers post, because if you train them to take care of their car early, they’ll get in the habit. Though the capacity of this is quite a lot smaller than the other options on this list, it’s easier to use more than one of these throughout yoru car. Anywhere you have a cup holder, you can have a car trash can. Though three color options are available, at the time of this writing, only two were in stock: blue and green.
You’ll have to improvise liners for these, but they’re easy to clean even if you don’t.
Find more Geekercity Car Trash Can information and reviews here.
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8. Hanging Car Trash Can by HappyChappy
Pros:- Dedicated multi-use unit including drink holder and tissue box
- Leakproof vinyl interior
- Velcro close top
Cons:- Only meant to hang from the headrest
- Will no longer close if it gets too full
- Hangs in the face of backseat passengers
Since car messes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and preventing spills is key, this option includes something the others don’t: a dedicated place for a box of tissues. Obviously, that’s useful if anyone has the sniffles, but having a box of tissues on hand to clean up minor spills is pretty convenient, as well. This is a typical style meant to hang from the back of a headrest, with all the drawbacks that implies. However, when this is less than three-quarters full, there is a Velcro closure that acts as a kind of lid.
Because of the space the tissue box takes up, the capacity of this car trash can isn’t as large as some of the other options. However, it’s still roughly the size of the others, so it will interfere with passengers seated right behind it. Nevertheless, this is a novel approach worth considering.
Find more Hanging Car Trash Can by HappyChappy information and reviews here.
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9. Dangshan Disposable Car Garbage Bag
Pros:- Easily works anywhere in your car
- Made of biodegradable material
- Use them only when needed
Cons:- On the small side
- Adhesive may not to stand up to heavy loads
- May be prone to holes
If you only need trash-carrying capacity in your vehicle some of the time, say on road trips, you might not need to spring for a dedicated car trash can at all. This is a pack of 30 car trash bags with adhesive strips so you can hang them anywhere with a conducive surface. Simply attach them, fill them up, and throw away the entire thing. Even better, they’re made with biodegradable materials, so you don’t have to worry about needlessly wasting them.
Naturally, with any disposable product, they’re not going to be up to the dealing with the same rigors the dedicated car trash cans will be. The adhesive may be lacking depending on the surface to which you attach it. It’s just a thin plastic bag, so if you put liquids into it, you’ll need to be careful not to catch it on anything and tear a hole. Still, for temporary deployments, it’s hard to beat.
Find more Dangshan Disposable Car Garbage Bag information and reviews here.
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