The MSRP on this compactor runs $849 for the stainless steel or a custom panel. We went with the white model, which was listed at $100 less. My girlfriend liked this one because it was so simple. The controls are hidden and all you really notice is the one handle. We had it installed from the place where we made the purchase, and they did a neat job.

After using this compactor for over six months, I am still very pleased with it. I put all leftover food items down the garbage disposer to keep from having odors because it may be three weeks sometimes before I take out the bag.

The book says there is a 75% reduction in the volume of trash that is placed in the unit, and although I can't vouch for the dependability of that information, I know that it takes a lot of paper and cardboard to fill a bag. I give this compactor high marks for performance and looks.

Some people have told me they prefer the compactors where you slide the bag out the front because there is less chance of spilling stuff, but I've never had a problem with spillage. Since I don't have to remove the trash that often, I consider the better looking unit to be more important than how I remove the bag.

The drawer is removable, which makes it simple to take it outside and hose it down occasionally. I don't know if other models offer that or not, but it is a definite plus to me. When some of my friends come over for a get-together, the trash can get somewhat messy, and when I have a party, food items do end up in the compactor that weren't planned to go there.

Sometimes my friends toss bottles in the compactor, and this sometimes causes tears in the bags. I assume that all compactors have that problem. I have placed bottles in the center of the compartment after other trash had been compacted below it and they were crushed fine without any problem.

The girlfriend thing didn't work out the way I had hoped it would, but she at least made a good choice in this trash compactor. I give my highest recommendation for this compactor; first, because it doesn't have controls showing on the front, and second because of the service I have received from it.