Is there any difference between garbage and trash?
May I have some examples? Thank's!
4 Answers
Some people might use one more frequently than the other, but to me their meaning is identical.
"Trash" = "garbage" "Trash can" = "garbage can" "Trash man" = "garbage man"
I say "garbage truck" and "garbage dump" (or just dump), but I probably say "garbage man" and "trash man" equally.
I've never heard "trash dump".
A "garbage disposal" is found in some kitchen sinks to help dispose of food.
"Trashed" is an adjective that means destroyed or messed up. It can also be used to mean very drunk.
In recycling, garbage may contain food waste, and trash may not. Not aware of all the local rules, but I would imagine that holds true for most refuse haulers rules. Ha now I added refuse to the mix.
Refuse as a noun, not a verb.
Great answer arh1. I totally agree. The only small point that I might add is that trash has the inference of something not 'stinky' or biological. For example, pieces of wood, concrete, carpet littering a house or yard is trash. Garbage conotates items disposed of from your kitchen, and can smell pretty bad in a couple days. With that being said, my wife regularly asks me to 'take out the trash' (from the kitchen). Therefore, I'd use them interchangeably. I don't know for sure if this is a 'from the dictionary' verb, but it is common to use "to trash' to describe the act of making a big mess. For example: 'after the party, our house was trashed', When the burglars ransacked the store, they 'trashed' the store.
Garbage comes from Old French garbe, a bundle of entrails (entrañas), while trash comes from some Scandinavian source, and it means anything useless. Maybe this explains why normally only garbage is used for organic stuff.
