garbage vs. trash

[Benjamin Barrett]

For me, a wastepaper basket can be a trash can but not a garbage can. The
container under the sink can be called either, but is usually a garbage can.
(I definitely interpret people saying both "take out the trash" and "take
out the garbage" to mean the same thing though the latter is more common.)

The cans outside where the garbage is stored until they come and pick it up
are garbage cans (not trash cans) and recycling bins. I think the word
recycling *bin* has been forced on us by the government, because two of my
bins are identical to garbage cans.

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle

> -----Original Message-----
> Sent: Monday, January 22, 2001 7:03 AM

> Is there regional distribution in the use of "garbage" vs
> "trash," as in cans
> or the contents thereof? FWIW, DARE has no entry for "garbage." - Allan
> Metcalf