Multiple Styles Reflect Different Functions
When the public is asked to consider trash cans, most people will just picture the cylindrical container made of metal or perhaps plastic that is used to store garbage and other household wastes. They are something that simply has to be set out on the curb once a week for disposal of items no longer needed or of use. These type of cans do comprise a significant portion of the total market for these vital receptacles, but there is a wide variation of the sort of trash vans that are available. Their design and the materials used to fabricate them will depend on the use such items are intended to fulfill.
Even within the specific subsets of containers, there can be further classifications depending on the needs along with further differentiation based on size and materials used. For instance, trash cans designed to hold food wastes may just be the sort of typical cylinder sort that immediately comes to mind for most people when the subject of trash cans does come up. When there is a need to scrape food from plated quickly and efficiently from plates and a desire to prevent odor build up, the need may best be satisfied by having a step on lever pop the top up. Both hands may now be used to scrape the material into the can that will automatically close itself once the foot is removed from the opening lever. Even here, there will be a choice between a round shape, half round, rectangle, or a square. There will also be different sizes and materials used in construction.
Other Types to Consider
It is common practice to place trash cans with push open lids in public places. This prevents people from being readily able to sort through the receptacle in search for items of value in recycling or to serve other purposes. Such efforts might cause trash to be strewn around a site. Here again, there are a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials used. Consider how many different types you have seen when tossing aside food wrappers and such at airports alone.
Both metal and plastic trash cans are durable, relatively inexpensive to fabricate, and light in weight. Metal ones may have certain advantages if the objects being tossed away are sharp or heated. Plastic cans can tear and melt. One would not for instance want to toss charcoal briquettes from a barbecue into such a container. On the other hand, care would still need to be taken when disposing of such materials to make sure there was nothing else combustible already in the can or about to be added in the immediate future. Plastic may be the better option when there is a lot of liquid associated with the waste going into a can since these tend to be more water tight than metal cans that frequently develop leaks along seams or at the bottom.
Speaking of heated material, receptacles for cigarette butts are another kind of trash can. These will often be constructed of concrete and filled with sand.