How to Build a Trash Can in Minecraft

Sometimes you just have to empty out your inventory and free up your hands. Or perhaps your chests are too full with resources you are not using.

Usually this all ends up boiling down to chests full of rotten flesh, dirt, or seeds. You can’t simply toss these items randomly in the world either because it takes five minutes for an item to despawn once dropped.

So, the easiest solution is to somehow destroy them and this is where a DIY trash can comes in handy. 

I’ll show you how to build a trash can in Minecraft to throw away your excess items that you may no longer need.

Building a Basic Trash Can

Other than items despawning, there is only one sure way of destroying items other than consuming them. And that is lava. 

Lava is one of the more dangerous things in Minecraft. If you get shot down by a Mob you can always find where you died and return your items, but you know for certain if you die near or in Lava your items are gone for good.

If there is a Lava pool near you you can simply walk up to it and toss your things from your inventory into it. This isn’t overly safe, though, and it doesn’t look the best.

For a starter trash can I usually dig a tiny one block hole in or near my base.

I surround it on all sides with cobblestone or other non-flammable blocks and place an iron trapdoor on top, and a pressure plate nearby to open the trapdoor. This way I can’t fall into the lava or drop anything in by accident. 

Do make sure that there are no flammable things like wood or chests too close to the lava. Leave at least a 3 by 3 block square around the lava empty and give it plenty of empty space above.

Building a Large Trash Can

If a hole in the ground doesn’t strike your fancy, you can also make a cauldron trash can! Other than water, a cauldron can also hold lava inside it. This looks more like a trash can if you’re going for a specific look.

I usually put some flammable blocks around it, just to make sure there is no way for me or anything else to drop inside by accident. An iron door and a simple lever make it easy to access.

Of course you do not need to stop there.

If you like playing with redstone and hoppers you can make a much more sophisticated trash can. You can make an automatic trash can that moves items from a chest into a dropper and throws them into lava itself.

However, I myself prefer to throw my Minecraft trash away by hand.