Keep Your Car Looking Clean: Best Car Trash Cans for 2024, Tested (2024)

This Hotor Car Trash Bag is clever in its design, with a waterproof main compartment and self-sealing rubber top to ensure your trash (and many of its smells) stays inside. The unit is available in one-, two-, and three-gallon capacities (we tested the two-gallon option) and also features external webbed pockets for keeping extra bags or accessories on hand and nearby when you need them.

Unlike other trash cans, which may rely on rubber straps to keep the trash liners in place, this Hotor unit uses four magnets attached to straps inside of the collapsible frame. This makes it easy to snap a new liner in place, and in our testing, we found the magnets were more than strong enough to keep the liner in place even with a good amount of garbage inside.

This particular unit can sit directly on a seat if need be but is designed to be strapped to the front or back of the seat. The clip is strong, and the strap can hold nearly anything you toss in the bag. We can confirm the bag will keep liquids inside, even after extended periods, so even if the internal liner gets ripped or otherwise opens up, your car won't become the landing zone for those not-so-empty Red Bull cans you threw in there.

Who says good things can't come in small packages? Oudew certainly doesn't, as is evident from its compact, cupholder-friendly trash can that's cute, compact, and good enough to keep small debris out of sight.

Sometimes you only need enough space to throw away a few gum wrappers or receipts, and that's exactly what this adorable little faceted trash can is for. It holds roughly 16 ounces of fluid and has a snap-in-place lid with a spring-loaded flap for keeping your smaller trash inside the bin.

Sure, you're going to have to sacrifice a cupholder if you plan to use this on the regular, but it's a small price to pay to ensure the rest of your car stays debris-free from those empty ketchup wrappers or unwanted receipts. The best part is, this little trash can is easy to remove and clean out with a quick rinse in the sink.

The compact SGLRT Car Trash Can is designed to be discreet and minimal. Instead of sitting in a cupholder, this unit features a clip on the back made to attach to interior door panels or to the pocket on the back of seats. Whether or not it'll work for your particular vehicle will depend on whether your car has integrated storage compartments in the door panels or pockets on the rear of the front seats, but for cars it's compatible with, this little set is great for offering a quick and easily accessible receptacle. The best part is, it comes in a kit of two, meaning you can attach one in the front and one in the back, or have one on the driver's and passenger's sides in the front so you're not having to ask your road-trip companion to throw out your spent chewing gum.

The unit features a spring-loaded lid that hides the collected garbage and is large enough to hold roughly 18 fluid ounces. While not the most generous trash can on this list, its combination of size and convenience makes it a great choice if you want an unobtrusive option for keeping your trash at bay.

So far, every trash can on this list is meant to be used inside your vehicle. This Rhino USA Spare Tire Trash Can, however, is meant to be mounted to the outside of your vehicle. Specifically, it's made to be mounted to a spare tire mounted on the back of off-roading vehicles such as Jeeps. It's ideal for car camping.

Designed for camping and overlanding alike, it's constructed of a heavy-duty fabric. It has a 25-gallon capacity, making it large enough to hold a standard trash bag. When you're done, tie up the bag inside, and secure the clips and straps to ensure your trash stays inside on your trek back home. That said, we're not sure we'd leave it mounted outside while driving, especially on the highway or on rough off-road terrain.

As a bonus, mesh pockets around the bottom of the bag and plenty of attachment points for holding other gear make it useful for securing other camping accessories while on-site. The best part: The bag comes with a lifetime warranty.

If you're looking for a high-quality, made-in-America option, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better solution than Carbage's Premium Car Trash Can. The unit is fairly straightforward, with its rectangular, open-top design meant to be used with a standard two-gallon trash liner (although a plastic grocery bag did just fine for us). The liner is held in place with a generous-size elastic band that has a silicone grip around it to reduce slippage.

The trash can comes with an included floor-mat clip that slides into the bottom of the can and keeps the unit in place by using the weight of a floor mat, which the opposite side of the clips slide under. The effectiveness of this securement will depend on the weight of your floor mats and their positioning in your car, so you'll want to make sure your floor mats have enough heft to them to keep the can in place.

The process of elimination, which required us to pore over the details of dozens of car trash cans on the market, was the real challenge with this test. But once we had our finalists in hand, we put them through a series of real-world tests to see how they fared.

Where applicable, we tested the ability of these trash cans to hold water. It should be no surprise that the solid plastic trash receptacles had no problem holding their respective volumes in water. Even the soft, fabric trash cans held their own, with all holding water for at least 30 minutes without any signs of leakage. We also measured the internal volumes to confirm manufacturer specifications and installed them in and on various vehicles to see how easy they were to use on a regular basis.

Can I use any plastic bag as a liner for my car trash can?

Yes, you can use regular grocery bags or small garbage bags as liners for easier cleanup. However, you'll want to ensure the bag fits well and doesn't stick out too much, both for aesthetic and practical reasons.

How do I prevent my car trash can from tipping over?

Look for models with a weighted bottom, Velcro strips, or other securing mechanisms to keep the can stable while driving.

Are there eco-friendly car trash can options?

Yes, several eco-friendly options are made from recycled materials or come with compostable bags that will break down under the right conditions. Remember that compostable bags generally don't fare well with liquids, so be sure to be cognizant of what you're putting in these kinds of trash cans.

Can I use a car trash can for anything else?

Absolutely. Many car trash cans are versatile and can double as storage for toys, emergency kits, or snacks. Just clean them thoroughly if switching between uses. The last thing you want is last week's lunch all over your emergency first aid kit.

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