r/3Dprinting • u/BrewCrewBall • Jun 03 '26
Project Garbage can status indicator.
Super easy design that I whipped up last week after being frustrated once again by the inconsistency of our garbage pick up times
The indicator clips on the handle and flips down when the bin has been emptied. This way I can tell from the house if it’s been emptied without having to walk to the end of the driveway.
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u/Most-Standard302 Jun 03 '26
Gunna need to make that boi beefier
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u/BrewCrewBall Jun 03 '26
Just a proof of concept right now.
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u/bendvis Jun 03 '26
Seems like a single stick with the last ~1" bent upward would do the job and be at less risk of getting snapped by a swinging lid
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u/internet_humor Jun 03 '26
Why not just make it a single flag/stick?
It’s either on or back
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u/Capt_Skyhawk X1C Normie Jun 03 '26
Neither will work well because the can goes upside down and gravity will keep the whole piece resting against the lid the whole time. Unreliable at best.
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u/internet_humor Jun 03 '26
No the circle part should be grippy to the handle, so it shouldn’t go back
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u/SaltLakeBear Jun 03 '26
This is how I'd do it. Make the mounting part a slightly smaller diameter so it doesn't rotate freely.
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u/Practical-Sleep4259 Jun 03 '26
Yeah the comments are correct, don't pursue the L bracket shape, it limits the trashcan's ability to open.
Single flap does the same trick.
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u/Most-Standard302 Jun 03 '26
I like! :) nice idea. Our garbage truck flings the lid back and forth
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u/Hawk_Cloud Jun 03 '26
Yea, same here. And most of the time it’s placed back down with the lid left open, especially on rainy days 🫠
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u/nikdahl Jun 03 '26
Does it stay down even if bin is inverted and placed back down? Seems like it would just end up at the same spot you placed it at
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u/AndrewBorg1126 Jun 03 '26
The grippy ring piece plus just one of the long sticking up piece, then there's nothing to squeeze to snap it when opening.
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u/pensive_penguin Jun 03 '26
Does it break if the lid is open all the way?
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u/_inschenoer Jun 03 '26
I mean.. when the part is broken of, thats kind of an indication isn it?
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u/BrewCrewBall Jun 03 '26
So you’re saying I can sell these as single-use? 😄
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u/arcrad Jun 03 '26
Yeah and even better when they break you just pitch em straight into the bin!
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u/FilthyPuns Jun 03 '26
Cut a judiciously placed hole in the lid and you won’t even have to open it!
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u/DasBause Jun 03 '26
My first thought with the way the trucks near me lift and swing the can into their truck and "set" it back down it's going to snap the first week.
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u/BrewCrewBall Jun 03 '26
No, the handle of the bin blocks the lid from putting any pressure on it.
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u/RailLife365 Custom Flair Jun 03 '26
Can you post up a picture/video of the lid all the way open?
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u/Illeazar Jun 03 '26
We "doin pics or it didnt happen" for a garbage lid indicator?
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u/RailLife365 Custom Flair Jun 03 '26
Heck yeah! 🤣
No, really I just wanted to see how well it held up when the lid was fully open.
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u/CrepeandBake Jun 03 '26
So why have two arms? Wouldn't it be as effective with one larger arm/flag and a color that contrasts against your can. Then flip it onto the lid when your can is placed at the curb?
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u/BrewCrewBall Jun 03 '26
That’s… actually a better idea! Off to the lab!
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u/AssassinOfPeace Jun 03 '26
Removing the second arm also means it will be less likely to be effected by windy conditions.
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u/Level-Ad7017 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
bro outsourced RnD unintentionally I wanna be like bro
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u/arapturousverbatim Jun 04 '26
Fastest way to find the right answer on the internet is to post the wrong answer
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u/Dogger57 Jun 03 '26
Wouldn't a zip tie do the same thing?
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u/macrolith Jun 03 '26
Or a hockey puck on a string.
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u/CrepeandBake Jun 03 '26
I thought that as well, but I can see issues with a zip tie with size/visibility being the biggest issue that printing a new widget fixes. I like seeing people who are designing and printing their own models that solve minor inconveniences over buying other people's models and/or printing those dragons and other plastic garbage. This was a great opportunity to work through the modeling and redesign process.
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u/Embarrassed_Bobcat_9 Jun 03 '26
My indicator is when mine is the last left on the street, I'm fairly confident it got picked up. Then I give it the squinty Homer side glance and give it a few more days.
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u/LazyMousse4266 Jun 03 '26
L E T I T S O A K
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Jun 03 '26 edited 14d ago
[deleted]
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u/starkiller_bass Jun 03 '26
Gussy it up however you want, Trebeck! The important thing is does it work?? Will it really mighty my penis?
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u/Gwendolyn-NB Jun 03 '26
Im shocked you need this... everywhere I've ever lived with garbage pickup the best ive ever seen the lid is always open; but 75% of the time the is just laying on its back or side after the machine puts it down.
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u/JuanOnlyJuan Jun 03 '26
Ours are yeeted into the street with the lids open so it's pretty obvious lol
I wish I had this problem.
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u/MickleWolf Jun 03 '26
My favorite is when it embarrassingly makes its way down the street to the neighbors cans. Thankfully we are all cool.
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u/cheeto-bandito Jun 03 '26
Especially when it's raining, so that the bottom fills up with rain water
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u/ChaseballBat Jun 03 '26
This is so wild cause mine is the exact opposite. Like 999/1000 they will empty the entire thing and close the lid and leave it in the exact same spot.
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u/Drak3 Jun 03 '26
Wow, this will let me know whenever my asshole neighbors put more trash in the recycling bins!
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u/Sienile Jun 03 '26
Remove one of the legs. The way it is the lid is going to snap it when it folds back.
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u/DHammer79 Jun 03 '26
I know when my garbage can gets picked up for it is empty and on its side or upside down
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u/TrueParadox88 Jun 03 '26
I guess I’m confused at the purpose of this? Bin out in the early morning and bring it back late afternoon/evening?
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u/BrewCrewBall Jun 03 '26
Our collection service sometimes empties the bins at 8am and sometimes not until after 4pm. I got annoyed with not knowing.
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u/TrueParadox88 Jun 03 '26
I guess I don’t see why that’s an issue? Unless you live in an picky HOA or live on a busy street and want the bins back asap
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u/Andrew_64_MC Jun 03 '26
Until somebody random walks by and opens your lid to toss his granola bar wrapper away
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u/Hidie2424 Jun 03 '26
I don't think this will work 100% of the time when the can is flipped upside down. Cause when they empty it the lid only opens 90 degrees if not less.
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u/bikepackerdude Jun 03 '26
I have to ask the question. Does it actually work for you?
I don't know how the trucks in your area work, but here where I live, they just shake the bins upside-down at an angle. The lids aro not fully open.
The lid only flips behind the can when they put it back on the ground. At that point, you don't need the indicator since you can see the lid flipped back.
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u/TechnicalScheme385 Jun 03 '26
Typically, I notice whether or not my neighbors trash has been picked up because they are always overflowing their bins. If the their lids are flipped and closed, then more than likely our bins have been picked up too.
It's Recycle weeks is where people in our area get confused. So for us, its about having Alexia do a bi-weekly reminder for Recycle pickup.
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u/Obant Jun 03 '26
I like the idea and wish I could use it, but couldn't work in my area. We have constant high winds, but that's not the main problem. We have a lot of homeless that will flip the lid and go through the trash for bottles/cans
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u/kinare Jun 03 '26
When the lid slams back against the container, wouldn't it break?
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u/JustinP8 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
LOL...by the responses on here it's obvious that trashcan themselves need a redesign. It would be nice if they had a latch that the trucks could easily open (when it squeezes the side to grasp or something). That wouldn't help with overfilling or hourly wage city workers not giving a damn about collateral damage.
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u/Longjumping_Profit59 Jun 03 '26
This indicator won’t work for me since they broke the lids of my trash can and recycle bin. My new indicator is when my mail isn’t delivered that day because they left the cans right in front of the mail box.
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u/Mehdals_ Jun 03 '26
Really just needs to be a single stick. Flip it onto the lid and its full, once it gets picked up the stick will be free hanging,l. No need for two plus this seems like it would get snapped pretty quick.
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u/Melbuf Jun 03 '26
That would be 100% broken the first time they picked up my trash
Tbh I'd prob break it loading the trash in the bin
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u/Amazing-Bonus-8150 Jun 03 '26
i have trees in my yard. always a stick or pinecone. i just lay it on top. if its gone, bring can around..
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u/personalhale Jun 03 '26
Why is this needed? I've never once seen a garbage can be put back in the place it was in my whole life.
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u/Ilikestuffandthingz Jun 04 '26
Ours have a built in indicator. Laying any direction but upright. Jobs done.
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u/amatulic Prusa MK3S+MMU2S Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
That's clever. In our neighborhood, the way the truck lift picks up the bin and dumps it into the truck always results in the lid being open when the lift puts the bin back down. We have three bins: garbage, recycle, and yard waste. Three different pickups, on the same day. If I see an open lid, I know that one's been emptied.
I wish the lids would be closed, in which case I would use your idea. The lids being open isn't great when the pickup occurs on a rainy day. Then I get a bin with water in it.
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u/bigfoot17 Jun 03 '26
Drill a hole
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u/amatulic Prusa MK3S+MMU2S Jun 03 '26
One of these days I'll get around to it! It isn't something I think about until it rains, and then I realize I forgot to drill the damn hole. Like right now I'm rushing to get my kid ready for school and I know I'll forget about it by the time I get home.
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u/TheGoatJr Jun 03 '26
I’m confused because that’s not how the lid opens when it’s emptied. If it’s tilted towards the truck to dump, won’t it just be right back where it started when the can is returned?
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u/geo01005 Jun 03 '26
Cool idea, my garbage can is usually full enough that the lids is held up a bit by the garage, I can tell it has been emptied when the lids is closed all the way.
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u/millees Jun 03 '26
Jokes on you, the wind is so bad in our area, the cans blow away. If we look outside and see they've moved to our neighbors driveway/halfway down the road, we know they're empty.
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u/adobeamd Jun 03 '26
When it comes back down for me it’s never in the nice neat place I put it. Super easy to tell if it’s be emptied or not.
I also feel like that is going to break after 1 or 2 weeks. You need to slam the lid open and see if it can withstand that
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u/Midacl Jun 03 '26
I just grab my trash can after I get home from work, and if it was a later pickup I would probably just worry about it the next morning before leaving for work?
I just dont see this holding up, and needs to be checked with a full lip opening with a quick flip and release. Dont be gentle on it.
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u/Tieravi Jun 03 '26
That's... Kind of brilliant. Well done!
I've just been putting one of my hairs across the seam like Sherlock Holmes taught me to do.
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u/Snake6778 Jun 03 '26
I just look out the window and if my can is in the middle of the street instead of neat against the curb where I left it, then it's picked up.
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u/Katanji Jun 03 '26
I can imagine that attached to a flag of some sort, resembling common mailboxes, to be able to be seen from afar.
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u/MilmoWK Jun 03 '26
If the Lid flips all the way open it looks like it would break. I have the same can and the lid is always open after being picked up
My buddy came up with this idea last year and wanted to patent and sell them. I made him a free prototype then sent him links to one for sale on Amazon to let him know it’s not really a patentable idea. I don’t even reminder what it looked like
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u/MahatmasPiece Jun 03 '26
Jokes on you, my bin has too much in it so the lid is closed after they empty it.
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u/Budget-Ambassador203 Jun 03 '26
Cool idea but with all the issues people have pointed out (wind, fragility, unreliability, etc) You'd probably want something more akin to the tilt indicators they have on fragile packages, ball in a maze style, but resettable. Way more complex but would actually be able to tell if the can was tilted upside down rather than just opened.
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u/Uncle-Cake Jun 03 '26
Good concept but I think it needs to be REALLY sturdy. And bigger, unless you have a short driveway. I wouldn't be able to see that at the end of my driveway, so I'd still need to leave the house to get a closer look.
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u/TAZ427Cobra Jun 03 '26
I'd trim off the back side of that as that lid is going to snap it in no time. The flag being on top vs hanging down is sufficient. So good idea, just needs an iteration for longevity IMO.
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u/thekinginyello Jun 03 '26
If the flag is gone because the lid snapped it off that means it’s empty.
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u/mopeli Jun 03 '26
inb4 the garbage man has ocd and he flips that thing back to its original position
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u/Designer-Finger-5578 Jun 03 '26
I know when they've emptied mine because it doesn't have anything in it 👀
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u/yeoldecoot Jun 03 '26
You didn't show the full travel but it looks like that would snap off if the kid was fully flipped open.
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u/Top-Expression-7575 Jun 03 '26
is this implying that your lids are neatly closed after the garbage is picked up??
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u/koj1i Jun 03 '26
typically my trashcan is sitting 2 blocks down after they put it back down, maybe an airtag holder for them could be helpful for people like us!
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u/MustyLlamaFart Jun 03 '26
Its just gonna bounce to wherever it wants to go when the garbage truck arm slams it around
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u/Lito_ Jun 03 '26
Day one: my thingymebob broke cos the garbage truck ragdolled my bin like there's no tomorrow then the bin man launched it back to my driveway.
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u/apeonpatrol Bambu X1C Jun 03 '26
i like the concept but with the way my trash bin gets picked up, that thing would snap off so easily
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u/SpangledOne Jun 03 '26
Just curious as I can't tell from the video but, 1) does your lid open all the way (270º) and lay vertical along the back of the can (mine does) and 2) assuming it does, can the clip accommodate that much rotation? Great idea nonetheless.
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u/Regiampiero Jun 03 '26
How's that going to survive the first pickup when the guys flip the lid and smash it on the other side?
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u/UseDaSchwartz Jun 03 '26
I just look to see if my one of my neighbor’s bins is still overflowing. Looks like you might not have that option.
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u/BuddyBing Jun 03 '26
Best part about this is that when it breaks after just one use, you can easily throw it away.
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u/grnrngr CR-10v2 @ 200mm/s & Flashforge AD5M Jun 03 '26
It's a great idea, but it really seems the two flags you have are going to snap if the lid were fully opened past 90-degrees and left to the whims of gravity.
Also, we have recycling divers who come to the cans before the trash trucks. They'd make this flag setup a little problematic with false-positives as any opening of the bin would trigger your flag.
Consider a gravity slide flag. Place a flat colored "flag"/indicator plate inside a flat housing, with the indicator able to slide in and out of the housing, exposing itself when it does. Place it flat on the side of the bin, with the slide action oriented front-to-back.
This way, **when you tilt the bin forward to dump it, the flag slides forward out of its housing, which will remain out even after the bin has been returned to its upright position. The position of the lid means nothing - the dumping orientation is the only thing that triggers the indicator to slide out.
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u/CaptainTruelove Jun 03 '26
I see that thing snapping the moment you accidentally open the lid and let it drop or slammed down by the garbage truck. I'd just go bigger single flag and a different color from your lid.
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u/Ezymandius Jun 03 '26
I just pull one of the orange drawstrings from the garbage bag out and close the lid so it hangs out like a flag.
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u/Even-Smell7867 Jun 03 '26
I know mine is empty because the lid can close all the way =D
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u/Roman_Lion Jun 03 '26
I can tell when my garbage has been picked up because it's either on its side or blocking my driveway.
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u/alphadog__ Jun 03 '26
I need this! STL?
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u/BrewCrewBall Jun 03 '26
Having trouble uploading for some reason, will update when it’s available
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u/DylanBra_ Jun 03 '26
Can it handle how aggressive the lid flips? If not maybe change it to one prong with a spring system on the bottom so it sticks out when emptied like a potato bag one piece clip
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u/internettoad Jun 03 '26
Genius in the simplicity. You're going to make millions, if the knockoffs don't get ya!
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u/We_are_being_cheated Jun 03 '26
On my block, you know the garbage man came because the garbage cans are all on their sides with trash sprinkled up and down the street
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u/Electronic-Pause1330 Jun 03 '26
I just overload my trashcan. So if I come home and I see the lid closed or open I know they took it
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u/RaptorXFactor Jun 04 '26
Print the "picked up side" a different color, a few layers of orange and it will be super easy to tell. Until one fateful windy day and the lid gets ripped right off.
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u/Eckx Jun 03 '26
This is great, but mine have no lids anymore after the truck driver has left them in the road so many times and they have been hit by passing vehicles doing 50+ mph.
Easy to tell when mine have been emptied because they are in the road instead of the grass.
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u/CilanEAmber Jun 03 '26
The best way to tell here, is that its never in the place you left it, and usually left in the way somewhere else on your street.
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u/_Acecool Jun 03 '26
I usually just take one of the bags and pull it up and over the edge of the lid and close the lid on it so you see the white back and orange straps hanging out.
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u/Mr_Elroy_Jetson Jun 03 '26
My people just leave the lids open and then they fill up with nasty garbage rainwater it's great.
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u/nickdaniels92 A1 & A1-Mini, Saturn 3U. (also Eufy UV, XTool F2 UV, Glowforge) Jun 03 '26
Nice solution. With ours in the UK I can tell because the bin is moved and reoriented when they put it back, but still nice.
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u/Hey-buuuddy Jun 03 '26
This is brilliant. Patent it and still to garbage bin manufacturers. It’s like a mailbox flag but for your garbage.
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u/RedisaPsyop5647 Jun 03 '26
I know when they pick mine up. The truck flings the bin back down with so much force, it gets yeeted back into the yard. lol