Years ago in Saskatoon, they brought out containers for garbage pickup. They were awesome and in Lawson Heights each home had their own garbage container. When Wendy and I bought a house in Mayfair, we had a massive one but it was shared between four houses. If you waited more than 8 seconds after the garbage truck went by, our bin was full. It was so aggravating. Not only that but people on our block would fill their bin and then work their way down the street, using ours so even after the home behind us was torn down and we had only three homes using our garbage container, it was always full.
This week I was given the greatest gift a homeowner could be given, our own garbage container. We can keep it where ever and we don’t have to share it with others. Now Wendy and I work really hard at reducing our waste and we recycle everything we can. We mulch most of our grass and we compost the rest of it but it is so nice to be able to go out when I need to toss something in the garbage and not find it full of drywall, furniture or stuff that you aren’t even supposed to toss out and stuff that belongs to someone two blocks away from our house.
Back in college days, I was in a model railroad club. We had half a dozen 2 by 6 foot work tables, that seemed to accumulate clutter, old tools, etc. As a result, you could never find a bare worktable. So, I took a sheet of masonite, the same size as the worktables, and put two holes in it, so I could hang it on a wall. Then I went around to the other worktables, and collected junk – scrap wood, empty model boxes, half a deceased sabre saw, old magazines, empty paint cans, and glued all the junk to the masonite. Then left it on one of the tables. Whenever I wanted a clear worktable, I just picked up the masonite, hung it on the wall, and got to work. When done, I put it back.
You can do the same thing. Look at the inside of your garbage can. The top four inches are a thick molding, designed to accommodate the lid. Then from four inches down, the can tapers. Carefully cut a piece of plywood, that perfectly rests on the beginning of the taper. Paint it black. Then glue, screw, wire, etc. junk on top. Broken styrofoam is good, as are aluminum cans, and cardboard/plastic blister packaging. A ragged piece of fake fur (with iodine drops) sticking out adds to the effect, suggesting road kill. In the center, have an old syrup bottle, with a handle, for picking the whole assembly up. Just make sure you rescue it the night before, when you drop your last load, and fill up the last of your nine cubic feet.