A trash compactor and collapsible box for use therewith to handle waste material generated during flight of passenger-carrying aircraft. The trash compactor includes a housing (20) formed with front and rear box chambers (22, 24) to receive first and second collapsible trash-receiving boxed (B-1, B-2). A front door (26) is provided for the housing having a trash-receiving chute (28) in its upper portion. The first box is initially disposed in the front box chamber. When it is filled, the front door is opened and the first box is pushed to the rear box chamber. The second box is then positioned within the front box chamber to receive trash, and the front door is shut. The collapsible boxes have a front wall disposed at the same elevation as the lower edge of the chute, while the tops of the side and rear walls are at a higher elevation than the top of the front wall to permit the boxes to receive a maximum amount of trash for their size. The bottom portion of the wall is of liquid-tight construction.