A garbage compactor, trash compactor, or garbage masher was a metal chamber used to store and compress waste. The walls would come together, compressing and crushing the garbage in the process.
When Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca rescued Leia Organa aboard the first Death Star in 0 BBY, they were forced to blast their way into unit 3263827. Since garbage chute sensors identify types of waste and direct them to the right compactor, Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca ended up in recyclable waste owing to their armor and weapons. Once inside, they were unable to leave because the door was magnetically sealed, preventing blaster bolts from penetrating. A dianoga attacked and almost killed Skywalker when it took him underwater. When the creature released Skywalker, the walls began to rumble and edge toward each other, threatening to crush the companions trapped inside the masher. However, they were saved when C-3PO, Skywalker's protocol droid, had R2-D2 shut down all the garbage mashers on the Detention Level.
Thirty-four years later, during the Battle of Starkiller Base, Solo asked Finn, a former First Order stormtrooper who had sanitation duties at the base, if the location happened to have trash compactors. Finn used his knowledge to find one, and they forced their prisoner, Captain Phasma, down the garbage chute.
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