Most Homes Had One. Do You?
June 30, 2025
Source: Reddit
I was rooting around in my backyard, pulling weeds, when I found these large, round, rusty lids half-buried next to the deck. Three of them, arranged like little U.F.O. landing pads.
I pried one open.
Inside was a metal can. Big. Galvanized. Clean, kind of, except for some leaves and water, weirdly. For a second I thought it might be a time capsule or perhaps a moonshine stash.
It was an underground trash can.
Yup, In-Ground Trash Cans Were a Thing
Suburban homeowners often had them before the 1970s.
Instead of rolling out trash to the curb, you’d walk out back, pop open the heavy lid (some operated via foot pedals), and toss kitchen trash into the metal can beneath it in the ground.
No bags. No liners. Just raw trash.
How It Worked
You would dump the kitchen garbage into the in-the-ground can when it was full. Paper and cardboard were placed on top so you could stomp it down with your foot.
Once a week, the trash collectors made their way into the yard. They lifted the lids, hauled out the heavy cans, dragged them to the truck, upended them and replaced them on the ground.
Garbage collectors did serious work. At Christmas, tipping them wasn’t just polite — it was a given.
Why They Disappeared
By the 1970s, trash companies demanded that homeowners carry cans to the curb. Plastic trash bags became the norm — cleaner, lighter, easier.
In-ground trash cans became useless. No one was carting concrete-anchored cans out to the street. Curbside pickup made them obsolete.
Found One? You’re Not Alone
Homeowners continue to find these in some older yards. Some are rusted out, but others remain solid.
Home gardeners convert them into planters, garden tool storage and backyard coolers. Others tear them out — meaning breaking concrete and digging down.
A Trashy Piece of Nostalgia
It’s just trash, but it’s illustrative of how life was so different. It wasn’t something you wheeled out, not in the early days, at least — it was a weekly rite.
A tiny, hard reminder of the good old days.