Dumpster (term)

A dumpster is a large steel waste receptacle designed to be emptied into garbage trucks. The term is a genericized trademark of the Dumpster brand. The term is also common in Australia although Dumpster is not an established brand there. In British and Australian English, the terms wheelie bin and skip are more commonly used (although they are not perfect synonyms). In some other countries the more descriptive term "frontloader container" is often used, either in one or two words. In India it is called a garbage bin.

The main purpose of a dumpster is to store rubbish until it is emptied by a garbage truck and disposed of. Dumpsters can be used for all kinds of waste, or for recycling purposes. Most dumpsters are serviced weekly by a hired rubbish removal service.

Many businesses, apartment buildings, schools, offices, and industrial sites will have one or more dumpsters to store the waste that they generate. Dumpsters are emptied by front-loading garbage trucks. These trucks have large prongs on the front which are aligned and inserted into arms (or slots) on the dumpster. Hydraulics then lift the prongs and the dumpster, eventually flipping the dumpster upside-down and emptying its contents into the truck's hopper (storage compartment).

Other dumpsters are smaller and are emptied by rear-loading trucks. Roll-off dumpsters are large dumpsters from 10-45 cubic yards. These are used at demolition sites, cleanouts, renovations, construction sites, factories and large businesses. 95 gallon dumpsters (or "toters") are used by small businesses and homes where a normal bin would be too small, but a regular dumpster would be too large.

"Dumpster diving" is when an individual will go into a dumpster to find valuables. For example, someone would look for scrap metals that are worth money in a dumpster.

ee also

*Dumpster diving
*Waste
*Waste receptacle