Huh. I just let the "trash" be in with the paper until I make my rounds on Tues am before the garbage/recycling pickup. No food or wet stuff goes in there, just some plastic.

On trash day (or the night before) I first bag the accumulated newspapers in one paperbag, then all that paper (two spots it gathers) in a second paper bag, leaving any plastic wrappers, etc behind. Take that out along with bottle and cans. Then I start in the laundry room and pull the grocery bag liner with the dryer lint (replace bag), go back to those two work areas and retrieve the plastic bits, swing through the baths for that trash, back through the kitchen and put the bag into the kitchen can bag and out it all goes. Done.

Never had a problem quickly sorting plastic or pens, etc. from the paper. But it is dry trash. Wouldn't want to be picking through banana peels and yogurt containers. Ew.

I have so little non-paper garbage in my bedroom office area that I just walk it out to the kitchen. It's not THAT big an apartment (even if it did get bigger once I added in the hallways & bathrooms, LOL!) And I don't have non-paper garbage there much at all.

(I *do* have a small trash can near my bed, for bedroom/grooming type garbage--would that work for you? Put a second, small trash can by the bed for tissues, etc., and then just use it for throwing out non-paper office garbage?)

Can you just fit two trash cans? Or move the living-room trash can to be close to the door that leads to the guest room? That's where our living-room trash can is, so the distance is about the same as walking across a single room--it's not really a trek. About 6 to 8 steps.

Or get one just big enouogh, and cut a piece of foam board to fit, and wedge it down in there?

(I use the shredder for all paper garbage; I bought one w/ a gap beside the shredder head, so all the non-shredding paper can fit in there.

Collage, I don't know what posessed me to babble on about my trash day routine in my post last night - perhaps the late hour?

Good luck finding your divided trash can!

like this one?

Here is a link that might be useful: sorting trash can

Yes jenathegreat--thank you for finding it! In an ideal world, it would have been the shape for paper (rectangular), divided the long way and without a top but I'll either give that a try or, as Talley Sue suggests, make my own by wedging foam core into a single bin. Both great suggestions--thank you!