The Trash Can

Nov 12

Trash Can, Noun: a container for the disposal of dry waste matter.

Garbage Can, Noun: a container, usually of metal or plastic, for the disposal of waste matter, especially kitchen refuse.

Wheelie Bin, Noun: a large container for rubbish, esp one used by a household, mounted on wheels so that it can be moved more easily

They are called different things depending on where you live but one thing is certain, they are very important to our quality of life. Imagine if we didn’t have them! It was not that long ago that we didn’t. Trash cans have become such fixtures in our daily lives that we take them for granted. We drop stuff in them daily, but do you know how they came to be what they are today?

Before the cans we know today became household items, trash was dumped wherever a spot could be found, either on land or in the water. Garbage littered the streets of ancient cities. For the purposes of improving sanitation, odor and more, society had to find a better way to dispose of waste.

The garbage our ancestors threw in the street was very different than the stuff we dispose of today. There was no plastic, no glass, no cardboard. Their garbage was mainly ashes, bones and other food and vegetable scraps. Some civilizations dug large pits and threw waste in them, often burning the pits to reduce the volume. But often, people opted for the most convenient option–throwing it out the back door, where it simply piled up and smelled awful!

The Romans are often credited with creating the first sanitation force. This consisted of teams of men walking the streets to pick up and throw garbage into a wagon. This garbage was then transported to a remote landfill site. The first landfill, where garbage was dumped and covered with dirt is believed to have been in Crete, around 3,000 B.C.. As early as 500 B.C., the Greeks passed a law that garbage had to be dumped at least one mile from Athens.

During the Middle Ages most of Europe was still throwing trash into the streets. When it piled up, this garbage smelled terrible, harbored rats, flies and other pests, contaminated water supplies, and facilitated the spread of diseases like cholera and the Black Plague.

During this time, Britain passed a law that mandated clean front yards and introduced their first garbage men. They were called “rakers,” and their job was to rake up the trash into a cart on a weekly basis. The waste they collected was often driven to the Thames and dumped in the river.

With swelling populations and greater amounts of materials and goods being produced, new ideas were called for to manage waste and protect public health. In the 14th century, The English Parliament passed another law banning the dumping of waste in ditches and public waterways. In the 15th century another law is passed in Britain declaring waste must be stored inside until rakers remove it.

Around 1760, Ben Franklin started the first street cleaning service in America and encouraged the public to dig pits to dispose of their waste.

In 1878, health officials in Memphis, Tennessee suspected a possible connection between the spread of Yellow Fever and the garbage being dumped throughout the city. To minimize the threat of disease, residents were encouraged to take their trash to specific locations on the edge of town.

Garbage collection became an official system in England with the Public Health Act of 1875. The first concept of a movable trash bin was created. To encourage its use, the government would charge you if your bin was empty! These bins were used to store primarily ash waste and it was emptied weekly. The bins were made of metal and wood. Starting to sound familiar?

Many towns and cities were still using piggeries, which were farms full of pigs that consumed food waste. It took 75 pigs to eat about one ton of waste each day. Non-food waste was usually burned or buried. As the industrial revolution started, there was more and more household waste being generated. There weren’t enough pigs to eat all that garbage!

In 1934 the Supreme Court banned the dumping of municipal waste into the ocean, which had become very common. The U.S. made efforts to clean up by recycling rubber, paper, scrap metal, and tin cans as part of the war effort beginning in 1942. By 1945, many large cities in the U.S. were using sanitary landfills. After the war, open burning dumps and backyard waste burning was prohibited in most areas.

During this time, several advancements in plastics led to development of trash bins that resisted rust, corrosion and the damage that often occurred when a metal trash can was emptied in the back of a garbage truck. While a huge improvement over the crude wood and tin receptacles of years past, the technology was still not great. The bins were prone to cracking and breaking due to temperature changes and abuse.

By 1980, Polypropylene was introduced and began to be used which made the cans much more durable. As garbage collection became more common and advanced, garbage bins did too. The garbage can changed its appearance in the 1980s as municipalities and pick-up companies started using trucks with arms that automatically lifted up the trash bins. This need for automation dictated the size and shape of the standard curbside bin you roll out to the curb today.

What is the proper name of the wheeled trash can we roll out to the curb? It depends on your location. Some common terms are dustbin, garbage can, and trash can. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage, while "trash" and "can" are more common in American English usage. Other names used around the world include, Trash Cart, Garbage Pail, Litter Bin, Wheelie Bin, Rubbish Bin, Dust Bin, Toter Bin, Waste Can, Waste Bin.

Trash Can Cleaning

Whatever you call it, the trash can is an important part of everyday life. It is critical to both our quality of life and our health. Due to the things we throw in it, dirty “rubbish bins” can be really nasty, even dangerous. Routinely cleaning and sanitizing your smelly “wheelie bin” is essential to keep your household healthy.

But nobody likes to clean them no matter what you call them–it's dirty, disgusting work! Using a garden hose and detergent is not powerful enough to clean or properly sanitize dirty bins. If you use harsh chemicals, you could put yourself, your pets and the environment at risk. TriStar Bin Cleaning uses specialized equipment to safely clean, disinfect and deodorize your bins using only hot water.

Learn more about how to protect your family and book a low-cost bin cleaning now.

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