Outdoor Trash Cans and Receptacles

1. Square or rectangular outdoor trash cans accommodate pizza boxes or beverage cartons, while round ones are better for stuffing in big bags of accumulated indoor trash.

2. Locking lids do more than contain odors in your outdoor trash can; they prevent raccoons - and depending on where you live - bears from rummaging through your rubbish. The locks also keep trash contained if the bin happens to blow over in a storm.

3. Since outdoor trash cans are designed to be large, they can be quite heavy when full and a hassle to move to the curb on trash day. Make sure you get bins with wheels to make this weekly task a little less heinous.

4. An essential, if not glamorous, item you'll need for your first home is a heavy-duty plastic trash bin. These are weather-resistant, won't shatter if run over by a car after blowing away on trash day, and are easy to clean when they start to stink.

5. Oscar the Grouch knows how to weather any storm. Metal outdoor trash cans are heavy, so they'll stay put in a strong breeze, and are often coated with a rust-proof finish to resist the elements.

6. Trash bins in a heavily used public setting should be heavy and durable so they can't be moved, overturned, damaged, or mocked by bored hoodlums.

7. When you're trying to mount a beautification campaign in your civic space, the last thing you want to do is sully it with a garish, flimsy trash bin. Instead, turn to  sturdy metal, wood, or recycled plastic bins that blend in with the attractive new landscape.

8. Paper yard waste bags don't always cut it when it comes to containing tree branches or other pokey items. You'll need to have at least one strong, permanent, hard-sided bin for yard waste removal.

9. Even yard waste bins should have a lid to prevent rain from soaking the organic contents, and to impede rot and reduce stench before pick-up day.

10. If, on the other hand, you like rotting vegetation, outdoor bins can be used to collect material for your compost heap or can even be used as a makeshift compost bin.