# How do you throw away a garbage can?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 20, 2006, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303 "2006-02-20T07:58:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LVgeogeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b19c9b/32.png) [@LVgeogeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVgeogeek)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/1 "2006-02-20T07:58:06Z")
Well, the stupid trash collectors have broken my garbage can. It is the kind that has wheels on the bottom, they some how broke the wheels off so now it is damn near impossible to move. We are going to be getting a new trash can this week, but how on earth do we get the trash collectors to take the old broken one? I have had people tell me that putting a sign on it won’t work and we don’t have trash bags big enough to put it in. What do we have to do, cut it up? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/2 "2006-02-20T08:00:02Z")
Well, in Sacramento you call the city and they take it away and bring you a new one. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/3 "2006-02-20T08:34:10Z")
This thread title gave me a good laugh. It almost sounds like one of those Zen Buddhist questions like the one about a tree falling in a forest. I’d probably just toss it in a dumpster. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/4 "2006-02-20T09:48:12Z")
It’s cans all the way down! Round these parts you call up and then put it out empty on a different day than trash day, and you may have to do it for several weeks. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/5 "2006-02-20T09:51:44Z")
Put it out upside down with a sign taped to it. They’ll take it. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/6 "2006-02-20T15:14:18Z")
Cut it into two big pieces, and put each one into a trash bag. If it’s plastic, you might be able to cut it with a utility knife. Otherwise use a circular saw or a jigsaw. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/7 "2006-02-20T16:44:50Z")
Hurl it down the street on the next windy day. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/8 "2006-02-20T17:43:40Z")
Surreptitiously put it with your neighbor’s trash. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/9 "2006-02-20T17:52:32Z")
Take it to Goodwill. After hours, so they won’t refuse to accept it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/10 "2006-02-20T17:55:45Z")
Toss it into someone else’s dumpster. Or a convenient portapotty ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/11 "2006-02-20T18:06:15Z")
Down here, I tape a sign to it saying “Este es basura.” YLMV. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/12 "2006-02-20T18:17:22Z")
Recycle- it’s better for the environment. You have a new: [ul] [li]backyard leaf can[/li][li]recycling container[/li][li]planter for a small tree[/li][li]keg cooler[/li][li]hiding place for a spy or security camera[/li][li]low-budget kids’ pool or playhouse[/li][li]etc…[/li][/ul] Or. cut it up into little pieces and put it in the new can. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/13 "2006-02-20T20:34:44Z")
> [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > Or. cut it up into little pieces and put it in the new can. That’s what I do. BTW, our local waste transfer station accepts big items that are recyclable at no charge. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/14 "2006-02-21T01:40:34Z")
> [@Lily Tomlin](#): > > I bought a wastebasket, and I took it home in a paper bag. > > When I got home, I took the wastebasket out of the paper bag, and put the paper bag in the wastebasket. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![LVgeogeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b19c9b/32.png) [@LVgeogeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVgeogeek)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/15 "2006-02-21T01:59:36Z")
Thanks We’ll probably just chuck it in a dumpster somewhere… there are enough industrial/business plazas around here where it could be disposed of easily 😉 I hadn’t thought of that not as big of a pain in the arse as trying to cut it up. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/16 "2006-02-21T06:45:14Z")
Reminds me of a woman I knew who was moving from one apartment to the next - somewhat of a princess, she paid a company to move it all for her while she went away for the weekend. She came back to her new apartment, and everything was placed nicely in the rooms (she had given a list) and there, in the kitchen, was her garbage pail - with the same garbage she had left in the other apartment! Well - she did say “move everything”… ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/17 "2006-02-21T06:50:08Z")
I had to throw away a trash can when I got my new house. I had a yellow paint marker and I wrote on it “THIS IS TRASH” on 2 sides. then I positioned the can so that when you were driving down the street (say, in a trash truck) you would see the can with “THIS IS TRASH” on it. I think I even put some trash IN it (I had alot of trash to throw out). They took it. What’s the harm in at least trying the sign or painting right on it? The worst they’ll do is not take it and you have to try something else. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/18 "2006-02-21T07:01:07Z")
Jeez, Louise, we’ve got the same problem! When we moved here, the previous owner had two battered metal cans in the back yard. Somehow I missed them (they were probably buried in the then-jungle-like mass of out-of-control greenery) and they didn’t get included in the junk pile that the special rubbish hauler men came and took away. (When I was a child I never dreamed you would have to pay someone to come and take stuff that you don’t want, away.) I’ve been pondering… How to get rid of them? We bought a nice new one when we moved in. Maybe I will have to call the rubbish removal men again. Or maybe I will try using them for composting or storing soil in. That’s a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/19 "2006-02-21T07:08:52Z")
> [@LVgeogeek](#): > > Thanks > > We’ll probably just chuck it in a dumpster somewhere… there are enough industrial/business plazas around here where it could be disposed of easily 😉 I hadn’t thought of that not as big of a pain in the arse as trying to cut it up. What if you want to throw away a dumpster? There is no spoon. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303/20 "2006-02-21T13:43:52Z")
Signs work in my town. I’ve done it several times.o problem. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-throw-away-a-garbage-can/345303.md?page=2)