Growing up, my parents (who were both from New York) used the term “garbage pail.” Even as a kid I thought it weird that they were the only people I ever heard using the term.
Personally, I always say “trash can” because it’s only two syllables and “garbage can” or “pail” are three. I’m that lazy.
What do you call it?
Rubbish bin, bin or (if it’s in the study) wastebasket/wastepaper basket.
To me, the trash can and the garbage can are two different things. The trash can is the can in the kitchen (or bathroom, bedroom, office) that you toss trash into. The garbage can is the big can outside that you put full bags of trash into.
I’ve never used the term “garbage pail” or “pail” for these things. In fact, the only time I ever use the term pail is in reference to a scrub bucket kind of thing, in which case, I’m much more likely to call it a bucket.
By size, smallest to largest:
In the bedroom and bathroom I have wastebaskets.
In the kitchen I have a trash can.
I put the trash in the garbage can for pickup.
Before garbage pickup, I took my trash to the dumpster.
None of these. It’s just “garbage” or “trash”. “It’s in the garbage” or “put that in the trash.”
We’re so poor, we don’t even have all the nouns we need to communicate properly.
I forgot to add - the outdoor garbage receptacle is the wheely bin. Which reminds me of a joke:
The garbo was doing his usual round when he reached a house that didn’t have a bin on the curb. There was a man sitting on the front porch, so the garbo called out “Hey mate! Where’s ya bin?” The man yelled back “I’ve bin on holidays”. The garbo shook his head and called “No, where’s ya wheely bin?”. The man gave him a sheepish grin, shrugged and said “I’ve wheely bin in jail”.
I agree with everything cazzle said. Clearly a regional thing. I also thought that was a great joke, which may also be a regional thing. 
Ditto
New York here. I’ve always called it a garbage pail.
I’m from New Jersey, actually right across the Hudson river, not far from Manhattan . The garbage can is the receptacle in the kitchen. The garbage pails are what we dump the garbage can(s) into, they’re outside, and we put them out on the curb for the garbage truck to pick up on garbage days. Trash? Trash means you’re destroying something. The trucks take the garbage to the dumps. (I always thought “Fresh Kills” sounded really sinister.)
Gotta love the lingo from down under, I appreciate your humor guys!
Rubbish bin inside, wheelie bin outside. Not forgetting the recyclables bin, of course! 
The ones in my office or washroom are simply “the bin”.
The one in the kitchen is “the trash” or “trash bin”
When I was growing up, the “garbage can” was strictly for food refuse, and the “trash can” was for everything else.
Let’s not forget the “recycling bin.”
Bathroom - wastebasket
kKitchen - I just call it the garbage. The thing that the garbage is sitting in is the garbage can.
The big can outdoors; the one wheeled to the curb - the trash.
In the kitchen is the garbage bin. It must be a bin because it contains a bin liner.
The other rooms indoors I just hand a shopping bag on the door.
Outside is a wheely bin but we call it an Otto bin after the manufacturer.
Exactly so.
Anything indoors is a garbage can.
The thing outdoors that we put out on the curb is a trash bin or garbage bin, or occasionally a Herbie, since that’s what they were called in the city where I first had one.
Half the time I just call it the ‘garbage’ or the ‘trash’, sometimes with ‘can’ afterwards. If I was at home there’d also be the compost bin, the blue bag (two actually, one for regular recycleables and one for beverage containers–Mom takes the latter to a bottle drive for the local baseball league) and the green bin outside (the wheelie bin, only ours are for compost, not recycleables).
Got a new one-
We usually say “trash barrel”.
“Trash can” sometimes, and “wasterpaper basket” if it’s the one next to a desk.
In our house…
Little ones in each room are wastebaskets.
The one in the pantry, lined with a paper bag, is a trash can. Actual garbage goes in the **garbage disposal ** in the kitchen sink.
Trash that’s gonna stink or draw bugs goes out in the garage to the garbage can.
On trash day, tied up bags of trash and garbage go into the big blue can, and wheeled out to the street.
Recyclables go in the blue box, which is picked up very early on trash day. If we have more than a boxful, the excess goes in another can.
The contractor switched to a one man truck, which is why we have the big blue things. The truck is a huge, moaning thing with an arm that picks up the can, takes it up to the top, and dumps it inside. My little dog is terrified of it, and it’s hard to get her to go for a walk on Monday mornings.