Garbage Bin History
The garbage bin has varied history, from riding in the back of horse-drawn carts to being pulled in by robotic arms of today’s garbage trucks. As consumption grew over time in the United States, so did the need for a proper waste management system. As garbage collection became more common and advanced, so did the garbage bins.
Garbage Bin: First Appearance
Garbage collection became an official system in England 1875, and this is where we see our first garbage receptacle, which was used to store ash form burned waste. It was emptied on a weekly basis, and residents were charged even if the bin was empty. The United States caught up 10 years later, with a comprehensive waste management system in New York City. Once incinerating garbage became a regular practice in the U.S. around 1914, horse-drawn carts used for garbage transport were replaced with motor carts.
Garbage Bin: Proliferation
For the next few decades, inventions from plastic to disposable razors began to increase at a breakneck pace, and dime stores became the norm. By 1968, about one-third of America started sorting their garbage, marking the need for more garbage bins, and recycling became a word recognized in the mainstream. Part population growth and part boom of a consumerist society, the amount of garbage that Americans consumed skyrocketed. Garbage cans are so common now that home magazines start publishing articles on how to conceal them or make them part of your home decor. By the 1980s, people are painting and decorating them. There are garbage cans in the shape of dolphins on the coast, and bear-proof garbage bins in the forest.
The Garbage Bin Today
The classic garbage can also starts to change its appearance in the 1980s as municipal pick-up companies start using trucks that automatically pick up trash bins with their arms. Since 1995, public trash cans in France were replaced with clear hanging bags after terrorist bombings killed 25 people. Meanwhile, the recycle bin industry has taken a life of its own as living green has increased in popularity in the public consciousness. Today, we have three main kinds of trash receptacles: trash cans, dumpsters and trash bins on wheels.