A dumpster is a movable waste container designed to be brought and taken away by a special collection vehicle, or to a bin that a specially designed garbage truck lifts, empties into its hopper, and lowers, on the spot. The word is a

generic trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products ...

of ''Dumpster'', an American brand name for a specific design. Generic usage of '' skip'' or ''skip bin'' is common in the UK, Australia and Ireland, as Dumpster is neither an established nor well-known brand in those countries.

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 1935. The containers were called ''Dumpsters'', a blending of the company's name with the word ''

dump Dump generally refers to a place for disposal of solid waste, a rubbish dump, or landfill. The word has other uses alone or in combination, and may refer to: * Midden, historically a dump for domestic waste * Dump job, a term for criminal disposal ...

''. The Dempster Dumpmaster, which became the first successful front-loading garbage truck that used this system, popularized 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. All three trademarks have since either been expired or cancelled.

Function

The main purpose of a dumpster is to store garbage until it is emptied by a garbage truck and disposed of. Dumpsters can be used for all kinds of

waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste pr ...

, or for

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...

purposes. Most dumpsters are emptied weekly by a hired garbage removal service. Many businesses, apartment buildings, schools, offices, and industrial sites have one or more dumpsters, generally ranging from , to store the waste that they generate. Most dumpsters are emptied by front-loading garbage trucks. These trucks have large prongs on the front which are aligned and inserted into arms (or slots) on the dumpster.

Hydraulics Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid coun ...

then lift the prongs and the dumpster, eventually flipping the dumpster upside-down and emptying its contents into the garbage truck hopper (storage compartment). Other dumpsters are smaller and are emptied by rear-loading trucks. Ninety-five gallon dumpsters (also known as "roll carts" 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. These are emptied by rear-loading trucks or by side-loading trucks purpose-built for emptying roll carts of this and smaller sizes. Mobile construction dumpsters are dumpster trailers called "roadrunners", and are commonly used on smaller remodeling jobs or for garage or lawn clean-outs. Roll-off dumpsters are larger dumpster trailers ranging from and are used at demolition sites, clean-outs, renovations, construction sites, factories, and large businesses. 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. Roll-off dumpster are available in a variety of sizes to fit different situations. The size you need will generally depend on the following three factors: 1) Volume of Material, 2) Type of Material 3) Location or Placement of the dumpster. For example, heavy materials like bricks or stones should be in smaller dumpster so the container does not exceed weight limits for transportation.

Dumpster diving

Dumpster diving 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, private papers, or evidence of a crime). Going through garbage containers that are not strictly speaking dumpsters is nevertheless often referred to as dumpster diving.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumpster Brands that became generic Waste containers Articles containing video clips

History

Function

Dumpster diving

See also

References

External links