Talk:Dumpster

Requested move
This article should be moved to dumpster (which is a dab with only 2 entries on it). —Remag Kee 13:46, 7 September 2007 (UTC)


 * I know nothing about trademark issues in WP naming, but the proposal sounds good. The article should probably also be combined with Skip (container), especially if we get more information about and a picture of a roll-off dumpster. --Espoo 08:32, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Agree, unless somebody wishes to expand the post about the Dempster Bros. Company. Else, the small quantity of information on that company can just be added to the "dumpster" article. 2601:281:202:FD0:60CF:A513:75F6:1653 (talk) 12:53, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

Agreed. —Wiki Wikardo 19:29, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Why not merge it with Skip (container)? The basic thing is that Dumpster is liked to SKip? --Zzalpha (talk) 21:35, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

roll-off dumpster / roll-off container
Possible sources and pictures:

http://www.russellreid.com/services/solid_waste/roll_off_containers/

http://www.carolinarolloff.com/ --Espoo 08:30, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

Popular culture/media references
Two *categories* of cultural reference that would be good to list: people falling from buildings landing safely in a trash-filled dumpster, and sleeping/unconscious/dead people in a dumpster being accidentally emptied into a garbage truck. The first one is a common fictional cliche, the second one tragically occurs IRL as well. I don't think TVtropes is a reliable source, I can google an endless list of "person emptied from dumpster into garbage truck" news stories, or "person falls into a dumpster full of boxes" movie scenes but it would probably be better to describe the situations than list x number of occurrences. - Syd (talk) 06:21, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

Merge proposal

 * The result was no consensus.

What the Brits call a skip, we Yanks call a dumpster. Same object, different names. No need for two articles. Not sure which name the final article should appear under though. Based simply on article histories, the skip article is older, so maybe that's the legitimate final target. WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 14:42, 16 January 2013 (UTC)
 * A dumpster is a light, wheeled skip, but skips are multi-role and broadly defined, dumpsters have their own history as a standardized, genericised disposal container. Dumpsters are meant to be emptied via hydraulic lift on-site, like giant wheelie-bins, and generally have attached lids. The definitions certainly overlap... if it is merged with skip, be sure to keep the Dempster origin. Syd (talk) 10:19, 27 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I disagree to an extent, Yes there is a conflict of terms but they are NOT the same object. It could be merged into its own category within dumpster but as it stands skips and dumpsters have the same purpose but entirely different designs. Skips are loaded onto flatbed trucks and taken away, sometimes replaced with an empty skip. A dumpster is emptied into a large capacity boxed/closed container truck. Skips generally don't have lids and also have an opening door on the side to walk rubbish/waste into the bin for easy access. Dumpsters generally have lids and no side doors. Designs are different, but does that mean we should also merge wheelie bins, garbage bins, kitchen household bins, waste paper baskets Etc all into the same page? Clearly not... They all hold trash, sure... but they are different in design and require their own pages in my opinion. GarrattCampton (talk) 01:34, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

Merge proposal (roll-off)
Roll-off (dumpster) should be trimmed and merged into this article. – JBarta (talk) 00:48, 25 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Actually, after reading the above merger proposal section, it would seem a "skip" and a "roll-off" are quite similar (being slightly different versions of the same thing). I think a strong case could be made that both skip and roll-off be merged into this article. They are all pretty much the same thing with slightly different configurations and names. Do we really need three separate articles for this? We're here to teach people... not confuse the hell out of them. – JBarta (talk) 01:27, 25 January 2014 (UTC)

Merge proposals
This was a very confusing subject, and required some research. ::deep breath::

After some poking around it seems to me there are three kinds of large waste container:


 * Small wheeled variety which can be moved by a person. These are typically wheeled over to a truck which lifts it and tips the contents out.  Typically have a lid.
 * Small unwheeled variety which is typically lifted onto a truck. These are single or double-trapezoidal (inverted truncated pyramid) in side view and seem to be popular in the UK but not the US. Typically they have no lid, but may have a side door for walk-in loading.
 * Larger variety which is typically moved by winch. Up to the size of a shipping container.  Typically used for construction waste. Must be loaded onto the pickup truck in its entirety, hauled away, and tipped at the dump or transfer station.  This is a type of roller container, and is usually rectangular with no lid; one of the ends may open for walk-in loading.

As far as I can tell, the words and phrases used to describe these things are:
 * Skip - British for the small unwheeled variety or larger unwheeled variety. Australian for any larger-than-household waste container.
 * Skip bin - British or Australian for the small wheeled variety
 * Dumpster - American for any larger-than-household waste container, but originating from the Dempster Brothers' trademarked term referring to the smaller variety. Possibly British or Australian specifically for the small wheeled variety.
 * Roll-off - American for the larger variety
 * Wheelie bin - British for the smaller variety, but also used for a household trash bin on wheels
 * Container - American for the larger variety (similar to "shipping container"), but in either dialect could refer to a household or industrial waste container of any size
 * Frontloader container - the smaller variety, according to the article used in unnamed countries

I think we have two options:

1. Merge all these articles under one article (probably Dumpster) and explain the physical and vocabulary differences there.

2. Maintain three articles, in all three noting the vocabulary overlap and explaining the physical differences:
 * Dumpster - Small, wheeled variety
 * Skip (container) - Small, unwheeled variety
 * Roll-off (dumpster) - Large variety

I'm in favor of (1). Yeah, as Orenburg1 pointed out on Talk:Skip, there are different brand and design histories and different vocabulary for the same type of thing, but I agree with JBarta that it's less confusing to explain those small differences in a single unified article. Many things, like regulations and practices, overlap across two or three of these types.

The types and vocabulary also need to be summarized on waste container. -- Beland (talk) 18:24, 15 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Vote against. It seems somewhat American centric to merge European type skips, invented in France just after world war 1, into Dumpster which is a term never used in Europe. I would not say they are particularly small by the way - the most common size is about 10 M3. Orenburg1 (talk) 09:02, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Should we merge dumpster into skip in order to be Euro-centric instead, or is there some third term you would prefer? I would note that lorry redirects to truck; if there are just two different terms for the same thing, we just pick one for the title and explain both.  -- Beland (talk) 18:49, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I am certainly not suggesting a Euro-centric edit either. Waste container seems like a pretty big category. Sometimes things are better just left as they are.Orenburg1 (talk) 09:35, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Sentence Fragment
The Dempster Dumpmaster, which became the first successful front-loading garbage truck that used this system, to popularized the word.

This is not a sentence. I'd fix it, but I'm not 100% sure what it's trying to say. Un sch  ool  16:47, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 20:52, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
 * 20 yard dumpster in my Montgomery County driveway.JPG

Proposed merge of Dempster Brothers into this article
Dempster Brothers is insufficiently sourced to remain as a stand alone article. An earlier PROD was denied on the grounds that the article was important in establishing the origin of the name "Dumpster". It therefore seems logical to merge the relevant content here and make Dempster Brothers a redirect.  Velella  Velella Talk 11:48, 30 October 2023 (UTC)


 * ✅ Robertjamal12   ~🔔  18:03, 22 February 2024 (UTC)