Repairing curbside plastic garbage cans

I fixed the carbon fiber radiator top with epoxy and window screen and it lasted years. It was still that way when I sold the car. The trick is surface prep, really clean, scuffed up pretty good, and heated up with lacquer thinner. Then work the epoxy into the surface well, embed the screen, getting it as flat as possible, add more epoxy and repeat. Do it face up so epoxy completely fills the void. Make the patch plenty wide so you get a lot of surface involved (4" or so from the crack anyway). It will probably hold up until the truck grabs it crooked again or the guys bang the patch hard on the lip of the hopper.

Or just buy a new can.

Buying a new bucket is generally the most cost effective if you value your time at more than 50 cents an hour and you need the repair to last more than 1 or 2 garbage cycles. Using 2 smaller ones MAY reduce damage as they are easier to handle for the garbage goons.

How does one put a garbage can in the garbage?

Do you own it or does your garbage hauler own it?

If the latter, call them up and ask for a replacement.

Cindy Hamilton

That's right. Polyethylene cracking means it is degraded and needs to be replaced.

My garage is wider than average and will accept cans and cars. I did however, when they delivered an extra can for recycle, ask the guy, "Where can I put my f****ng cars?". Most neighbors have cans and cars parked in the driveway with garage full of other stuff.

Yep. In my district - it appears to belong to the hauler :

1. Get up early, swap it with your neighbor's identical bin. He'll blame the guys on the truck. Problem solved.

sawzall

thank you all for recommendations.

Cut it up into small, unrecognizable pieces?

I still get one car (and the garbage/recycling cans) in my 2-car garage, although I've only had this house for 22 years.

That's what I'd use (assuming it was my can, of course).

BTW, once I put a self-propelled mower in the garbage, in parts. The only part that needed power tools was the deck.

We would just set it out there and they would take it. They took a king sized mattress with the trash about a month ago. My neighbor always has furniture sitting out there. I think he buys cheap or just finds stuff for free and when he finds something a little nicer, he trades up.

They took a whole bathroom away from here when I remodeled. Tub, toilet vanity/sink and 20 white buckets full of tile, concrete and other debris along with some lumber. They grumbled a little but they took it.

take forever and if it can be done at all, needs experience to do it righth

All 4 ideas seem way to difficult and some don't seem likely to work.

I would get some of that waterproof tape they run commericals for, with the boat they cut down the middle and then repair. Wisty-seal?? I think it's pretty strong.

If not that, then use Gorilla Tape. One of my plastic garbage cans will be 36 years old in May. I never drag it along the ground so the bottom lasts. But yours has wheels.

I had a second can that did wear out, I think becasue someone would let it slam on the ground when partly full, and the replacement is at least

Recently, one of the lids got a leak and sometimes in the summer I applied overlapping layers of Gorilla tape to the outside. I woudl have just used one but the first one didn't come out right, so 2 is better. I would have put tape inside but didnt' t hink I needed it for this purpose. In your case, I'd put a layer inside too, if I can get the inside reasonably clean. A little dirt won't matter but slime will keep the tape from sticking. It's rained, it's been hot, and so far it looks like new.

Neither of these repairs will take more than a couple minutes.

Interestingly, Gorilla Tape in the size roll I got was cheaper at HDepot than Wal-mart, who would have you believe they are always cheap.

Even if it does belong to the hauler, it's in society's interest to repair it. Why throw away 5 pounds of plastic to fill landfill and never degrade if you can delay that. If the repair won't take too much time or money, I'd repair it. You can replace it in a few years when the repair failes.

ONe day the garbage men took my garbage can when I didn't want them to. It was filled up when I set it out, and, probably after they emptied it, they decided it should go. It had big problems (5 or 6 vertical slits about 8 to 14" long) but I could still have used it. I just wouldn't have put small things in that could escape through the slits. Any small things would have been put in bags. But I understand that few of their customers think like I do, so on average they did the right thing.

Gorilla tape will work. I have it on a crack on the lid of kitchen can.

Cut it up and put it in a garbage bag???