What you see as a trash can you no longer need, others see as a parking space saver they could use.

This is tricky, happened to me once. I put a sign on the bin saying "take this broken bin, it is trash." I don't think they noticed it the first week but they took in the next.

2 birds with 1 stone. Use it as a space saver and leave it for the city to pick up when the snow emergency is over

I have had good luck emailing the public works department and asking such questions. Usually they just tell me when to leave the item out, assuming it is something that take, and they send someone (not the usual truck) to pick it up.

you need to put it in another, slightly bigger trash can

What a predicament.

put a sign on it that says "$10 obo." It will be gone in a day or two.

Is your trash collector the kind of truck that lifts the can up and then inverts it and shakes it into the truck? Is so, just grease that thing up. I recommend Crisco.

I have been here: I filled the trash can. I wrapped in plastic over the lid and wrote "trash take it all", all over it. They took it.

Take your trash can out for a walk. Leave it somewhere along your walk. Chronicle its journey.

I actually went through this same dilemma this summer! I ended up sawing it to pieces with a jig saw and put it in a trash bag.

I did this before in the city. Just tape a sign that says “barrel is trash, please take” or similar to the top.

I can see the comedy now: consistently putting the trash can on the curb yet it never being taken 😂

Yup, exactly what my neighbors did. Worked perfectly

This reminds me of Monica in Friends vacuuming her vacuum with a smaller vacuum, and wishing she had an even smaller vacuum to vacuum what would in that comedic premise be the medium vacuum.

I did something similar but I also perched the empty and broken bin on its side laying across the other barrels to make it more evident and didn't have an issue with them tossing it in the truck.

put a couple of signs on it.

Chop it up into little pieces and put the pieces in a proper trash can,

I cut mine with a saws all into panels and put it in another bucket.

And while we’re at it, how do we recycle a recycle bin?

Put in on the street in front of a house you don’t own the night before a snowstorm.

A Sawzall

Same here. Exactly.

How dare you, that's my home.

I watched a neighbor do the same thing the other day. Hadn’t seen anyone cutting up a trash can before so I was fascinated to watch from my window.

Do you have a dumpster at work?

WFH on trash day, come outside when the garage truck pulls up and ask the garbage man take it

A sign on the lid saying "No longer needed, please take as trash" works.

Post it as free on Craigslist, Buy Nothing group, or similar. Other people will definitely want it. New outdoor cans are about $40.

That’s what we did when they had to come get one of ours because the squirrels got one of them.

We put a sign on it and flipped it upside down and the first week they just flipped it back over second week the my took it

As a long-time litter picker upper my go to method is to process junk into smaller pieces to fit in a trash bag. If the trash can is plastic just cut it with a sheet rock knife. If it's metal, stomp on it to make it flat or use aviation snips to cut it into pieces.

Spray paint another buildings street number on it and leave it outside. Nobody will be the wiser.

Same! Broke down after weeks of trying to figure out another way. Was quite satisfying.

Yep, it works great. I've done it to my neighbors a few times, and they can't figure out why their trash cans keep disappearing.

I posted this question on another site a few years ago and got shamed and flamed for not recycling it somehow. Top answer (I shit you not) was to cut it down and use it as a foot bath.

I ended up taking it to the dump and someone claimed it before I could toss it into the hopper. It had holes in the bottom and a fresh flock of maggots. He was instantly regretful and tossed it in the hopper himself

If it's one of the crappy newer plastic Rubbermaid ones, they are surprisingly easy to tear into pieces with your bare hands. The older Rubbermaid ones that actually last have become as sought after as old gas cans.

IANAL but I think it should go without saying that you absolutely shouldn't document your trash can's journey before you illegally dump it.

Woah trashception

You could also try posting it on an "everything is free" forum in your neighborhood. I'm sure someone will jump at taking it off your hands

If it's a city can, call the dept of sanitation and they will pick it up.

It's an episode of Designing Women and it's hilarious

I think you should recycle it.

Cut it in half with a sawzall