this post was submitted on 18 May 2025
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

What is a wheelie bin? I’m unfamiliar with this expression, and although I could Google it, I’m curious as to how this is used in your culture.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

Americans have one big category called the "trash can." This encompasses the little one in the bathroom, the waist high one in the kitchen, and the chest high one with wheels outside that you roll to the curb.

The British call the little ones inside "dust bins" and the big one outside a "wheelie bin" because it's got a built-in hand truck. I do like the American term "dumpster" over the British "skip."

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

It's a large household trash bin with two wheels, a handle, and a lid, usually made out of plastic. You can tilt it onto the wheels for easier transportation. It often has receptacles that a garbage truck can hook into when emptying.

The "wheelie bin" expression is (probably) Irish.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm Aussie and we (some of us) call them wheelie bins

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Probably in the US we would call them trash cans or trash bins. The term cans presumably goes back to when they were actually round metal cans.

[–] tyler 5 points 1 day ago

I’m pretty sure it’s British for ‘trash can’?