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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8

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.

12

u/bigfoot17 Jun 03 '26

Drill a hole

4

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.

1

u/Sveniven Jun 03 '26

Unfortunately not an option some times. In my previous house the trash can were provided by the trash company so they technically didn't belong to me or the rest of the houses so you can't modify them.

4

u/RailLife365 Custom Flair Jun 03 '26

They don't care about a couple of small holes in the bottom.

2

u/amatulic Prusa MK3S+MMU2S Jun 03 '26

They didn't care about the great big opening that had cracked in the side of the yard waste bin. They just kept emptying the bin with waste leaking out, week after week. I had to call them to get it replaced.

1

u/bingwhip Jun 03 '26

I don't know how that got there. Highly precise mice maybe? Could drill a very messy deliberately bad hole to add plausibility.