Dumpster (term)
Encyclopedia
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
of Dumpster, a American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
brand name for a type of mobile garbage bin (MGB). Generic usage of dumpster is also common in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, although Dumpster is not an established brand there.
History
The word "dumpster", first used commercially in 1936, came from the Dempster-Dumpster system of mechanically loading the contents of standardized containers onto garbage trucks, which was patented by Dempster Brothers in 1937. The containers were called Dumpsters, a portmanteau of the company's name with the word dump. However, it took the Dempster DumpmasterDempster Dumpmaster
The Dempster Dumpmaster, introduced in the 1950s, was the first United States commercially successful front loading garbage truck.Built by Dempster Brothers, Inc of Knoxville, Tennessee, they used the Dempster-Dumpster system of mechanically emptying standardised metal containers, which had been...
, the first successful front-loading garbage truck (which used this system), to popularize the word.
The word dumpster has had at least three trademarks associated with it by Dempster Brothers, but today it is often used as a genericized trademark
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
.
In British
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
and Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, the terms wheelie bin and skip
Skip (container)
A rubbish skip is usually called merely a skip or waste bin. A skip is a large open-topped container designed for loading onto a special type of lorry. Differing from dumpster, instead of being emptied into a waste vehicle onsite, a skip is replaced by an empty skip and then tipped at a landfill...
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.
Function
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 wasteWaste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
, or for recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
purposes. Most dumpsters are emptied weekly by a hired rubbish removal service.
Many businesses, apartment buildings, schools, offices, and industrial sites have one or more dumpsters to store the waste that they generate. Dumpsters are emptied by front-loading garbage truck
Waste collection vehicle
Garbage truck refers to a truck specially designed to collect small quantities of waste and haul the collected waste to a solid waste treatment facility. Other common names for this type of truck include trash truck and dump truck in the United States, and bin wagon, dustcart, dustbin lorry, bin...
s. 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. Mobile construction dumpsters are 6 cubic yard dumpster trailers called Roadrunners, and are commonly used in Dallas, Texas on smaller remodeling jobs or for garage or lawn cleanouts. Roll-off
Roll-off (dumpster)
A roll-off is an open top dumpster characterized by a rectangular footprint, utilizing wheels to facilitate rolling the dumpster in place. The open top container is designed to be transported by special roll-off trucks...
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.
Roll-off / Containers / Dumpsters / Opentop Containers are just a few of the names given to these large capacity receptacles. These containers are normally carried by very large trucks with hydraulic arms which load and unload the containers with ease, thus allowing these trucks to place these containers in a relatively unobtrusive position.
Dumpster diving
Dumpster divingDumpster diving
Dumpster diving is the practice of sifting through commercial or residential trash to find items that have been discarded by their owners, but that may be useful to the dumpster diver.-Etymology and alternate names:...
involves persons voluntarily climbing into a dumpster to find valuables, such as discarded metal scrap, or simply useful items, including food and used clothing. It can also be a method of investigation (e.g., looking for discarded financial records, corporate papers or evidence of a crime).
Dumpster in popular culture
An episode of The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
("The Otto Show
The Otto Show
"The Otto Show" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 23, 1992. In the episode, Bart decides that he wants to become a rock star after attending a Spinal Tap concert, so Homer and Marge buy him a guitar...
") satirizes the genericized trademark
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
issue when Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
finds school bus driver Otto homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
:
- Bart: Otto-Man? You're living in a dumpster?
- Otto: Ho, man, I wish. Dumpster-brand trash bins are top-of-the-line. This is just a Trash-Co waste disposal unit.