garbage vs. trash

[Benjamin Barrett]

On second thought, the garbage cans we take out to the curb every week can
be called trash cans, too, though I don't think it's as common as garbage
cans.

Benjamin Barrett
gogaku at ix.netcom.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On
> Behalf Of Benjamin Barrett
> Sent: Monday, January 22, 2001 9:23 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: garbage vs. trash
>
>
> 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