Ionrock Dot Org

Ok, I read this article on why the trash compactor on the Death Star makes no sense. The one prospect that I feel sends this whole argument in a tail spin is the assumption that the trash compactor was a permanent piece of the Death Star.

If we assume the trash compactor was actually closer to a local dumpster than part of the global waste management solution, things are more believable. This explains its proximity to Leia and how she knew about it. The two slow moving walls could not only be for creating more space but for examining what is in the dumpster. I am sure a perfectly good part or scrap might have been thrown in the dumpster by mistake, so a more gentle and slow moving mechanism might help find valid components and recycle them. I will admit the monster in the dumpster is a bit odd, but it could be to eat the organic waste that came along with the industrial components (a storm trooper throwing his lunch away in the same bucket as some scraps).

It's not a bullet proof argument, but at least it makes an effort to explain an admittingly silly scene in an otherwise amazing trilogy ;)