We spend a lot of time thinking about what we keep out of reach. Medications go in cabinets, razors get tucked away, cleaning products are stored carefully. We childproof drawers and keep potentially harmful products away from curious pets.
But what happens after we’re done with them?
Many of those same products—or their packaging, residue, and discarded pieces—end up in one place we rarely think about securing: the bathroom trash can.
To us, it’s trash. To a curious pet or young child, it can look like something worth exploring. The American Academy of Pediatrics specifically recommends that trash containers holding potentially dangerous items such as discarded razor blades or batteries have a child-resistant cover or be kept out of a child's reach.
Here are seven things commonly found in bathroom trash that deserve a little more thought.
1. Medications & supplements
Prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and supplements are common household items and can pose serious risks when accessed by children or pets.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends storing medicines and supplements in their original packaging in locked cabinets or containers, out of children's sight and reach. For pets, human medications are also a significant concern. Pet Poison Helpline advises keeping prescription and over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements securely stored.
It's worth thinking beyond the medicine cabinet. A dropped pill, empty package or improperly discarded medication can end up somewhere much easier to access.
The takeaway: Safe storage matters—but so does safe disposal.
2. Razors & other sharp objects
A used razor may be finished doing its job, but throwing it away doesn't make the blade any less sharp.
Razors, broken grooming tools and other sharp bathroom items can cause cuts or injuries if curious hands—or paws—make their way into the trash.
The American Academy of Pediatrics specifically lists discarded razor blades among the reasons a trash container should have a child-resistant cover or be kept out of reach.
The takeaway: “Thrown away” and “out of reach” aren't necessarily the same thing.
3. Menstrual & personal hygiene products
This one is particularly personal to TRASHCAN’T.
Used tampons, pads and other menstrual products are easy to overlook once they’ve been discarded. But if swallowed, non-food items can become foreign bodies in the digestive tract and potentially cause an intestinal obstruction. Tampons, specifically, are among the foreign objects that can cause intestinal blockage in dogs, according to PetMD.
It’s also where the TRASHCAN’T story began.
My dog, Nellie, got into a trash can I thought was safely out of reach and ingested a discarded menstrual product. What seemed like an ordinary piece of bathroom trash became a serious medical emergency.
Nellie ultimately developed aspiration pneumonia and nearly died.
Afterward, I went looking for a trash can designed to help prevent something like that from happening again.
There wasn’t one.
It made me question something I had never really considered before:
We put so much thought into keeping potentially harmful things out of reach. Why does that protection so often end once we throw them away?
That question became TRASHCAN’T.
The takeaway: Sometimes the things we throw away without a second thought are exactly the things worth keeping out of reach.
4. Personal care & beauty products
Skincare, cosmetics, lotions and their packaging routinely make their way into bathroom trash. The ASPCA notes that swallowed plastic or cosmetic packaging can pose a risk of foreign-body obstruction in the stomach or intestines.
And “empty” doesn’t always mean completely empty. Containers and applicators may still have product residue on or inside them.
The takeaway: It’s worth thinking about the container after you’ve finished thinking about the contents.
5. Dental products
Dental floss may seem harmless once it lands in the trash, but for cats, it can be particularly dangerous.
If ingested, floss can act as a linear foreign body, potentially becoming caught in the gastrointestinal tract and causing the intestines to bunch around it. In serious cases, this can damage or even perforate the intestine.
Floss isn’t the only thing worth considering. Floss picks, toothpaste tubes, caps and other small dental-care items routinely end up in bathroom trash where curious pets—or little hands—may be able to reach them. The ASPCA also specifically identifies dental floss and other inedible bathroom products as potential obstruction risks for pets.
The takeaway: Ordinary to us doesn’t always mean harmless to them.
6. Cleaning products & residue
We usually know to store bottles of bathroom cleaner, disinfectant and other household chemicals away from pets and children.
But we may think less about what happens after we use them.
Cleaning wipes, paper towels and other materials containing product residue often go directly into the trash. Pet Poison Helpline specifically recommends disposing of paper towels wet with cleaner and sanitizing wipes in covered trash cans.
The takeaway: Don’t forget about what’s left behind after the cleaning product goes back in the cabinet.
7. Plastic, packaging & the little things
Wrappers. Caps. Cotton swabs. Empty tubes. Floss picks. Small plastic pieces.
Individually, they may not look particularly concerning. But swallowed packaging and other non-food objects can sometimes lead to gastrointestinal obstruction in pets. The ASPCA warns that ingested packaging can cause an obstruction and potentially become a medical emergency.
It’s also part of what makes bathroom trash so easy to overlook: most of what’s inside is completely ordinary.
The takeaway: Small doesn’t always mean insignificant.
The overlooked part of keeping things out of reach
We put a lot of thought into keeping potentially harmful things away from pets and children.
But eventually, many of those things—or what’s left of them—end up in the trash.
That’s often where the protection stops.
What happened with Nellie made me realize there was a gap in the way we think about prevention. We’re careful about what we store and where we store it, but once something is thrown away, we rarely give it the same thought.
That realization led to a simple question:
What if the trash can itself could help?
That’s why I created TRASHCAN’T: an auto-locking trash can designed to help limit unwanted access to what’s inside, without changing the way you use it.
Step. Toss. Close. It locks itself.
Some things belong in the trash. That doesn’t mean they should be within reach.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for medical or veterinary advice. If you believe a child or pet has ingested or been exposed to something potentially harmful, contact an appropriate medical professional or poison control resource.