Trash Compactors
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Kitchen Cooking Appliances · CPSC Code 252
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Trash Compactors carry a danger score of 32/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 394 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 32/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 394
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.1%
- end in hospital admission
- 35-44
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 252 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 32/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for trash compactors - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume394 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.1%
- Fatality rate0.43%
- 5-year trend-10%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Trash Compactors (CPSC product code 252, in the Kitchen Cooking Appliances category) generate an estimated 394 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 7,873 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 32/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2008 (674 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2009 (168 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for trash compactors is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 1,688 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (404 cases). The 35-44 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,491 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.1% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.43%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how trash compactors fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 64 | 7 | |
| 5-14 | 406 | 21 | |
| 15-24 | 658 | 771 | |
| 25-34 | 789 | 279 | |
| 35-44 | 1,084 | 407 | |
| 45-54 | 818 | 620 | |
| 55-64 | 670 | 312 | |
| 65-74 | 400 | 230 | |
| 75+ | 33 | 304 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Finger | Hematoma | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Amputation | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Finger | Crushing | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Hand | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Hand | Crushing |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
20YOM WITH BEING HIT IN HEAD BY TRASH COMPACTOR DX: CONCUSSION
53 YOM HIT HEAD ON TRASH COMPACTOR LAST NIGHT, C/O FEELING DIZZY, DOES NOT TAKE BLOOD THINNERS, DX: CONCUSSION, ACUTE HEAD INJURY
69 YOM WAS CRUSHING CANS WITH A CAN CRUSHER WHEN IT SLIPPED AND CUT HIS HAND. DX: LEFT HAND LACERATION
40YOM KICKED A METAL TRASH COMPACTOR THIS MORNING DX RT GREAT TOE CONTUSION
68YOM FELL DOWN A TRASH CHUTE ABOUT 20 FEET DX: FRACTURED HIP
44 YOF WAS FOUND IN A TRASH COMPACTOR AT AN APRATMENT COMPLEX . DX: OPEN SKULL FRACTURE, BILATERAL UPPER ARM OPEN FRACTURES.
69YOM,FINGER INJURY AGAINST A CAN CRUSHER,DX:FINGER LAC
40 YOM STRUCK HIS ARM WHILE LOADING A TRASH COMPACTOR. DX: RIGHT ARM PAIN
14 YOM GOT HIS LEFT HAND CAUGHT IN A PRESSURIZED CAN CRUSHER.DX: LACERATION LEFT MIDDLE FINGER
70YOF WITH FINGER LAC AFTER GETTING FINGER CAUGHT ON GARBAGE COMPACTOR DX: LAC OF FINGER
62 YOM INJURED THORACIC BACK, FALL, FELL FROM TRASH COMPACTOR. DX-COMPRESSION FRACTURE T12
37YOF WAS USING A TRASH COMPACTOR WHEN THERE WAS BROKEN GLASS IN IT AND CUT RIGHT FOREARM DX: LACERATION FOREARM
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Two new KitchenAid trash compactors were installed in my new kitchen in May, 2011. Several months ago, one of them started smoking (I'm assuming a burning motor). We're still awaiting the repair; The second trash compactor started smoking on Friday 6/1. I'm concerned that this is a real safety issue. It's unusual for one household's kitchen to contain 2 trash compactors so it may not be apparent to most consumers that it may be a model-wide issue.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to trash compactors on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are trash compactors?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, trash compactors have a danger score of 32/100 (low risk). An estimated 394 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from trash compactors?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 1,688 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from trash compactors increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for trash compactors injuries?
The 35-44 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,491 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by trash compactors?
Of all ER visits involving trash compactors, approximately 3.1% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with trash compactors?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Kitchen Cooking Appliances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 32/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 35-44 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
