What's the difference between ''rubbish bin'' and ''bin'' ? (AmE & BrE usage) ​Hi guys, how are you all? I know that North Americans and Canadians (I guess) tend to use ''trash can'' and British peopl

Victoria Lopez

What's the difference between ''rubbish bin'' and ''bin'' ? (AmE & BrE usage) Hi guys, how are you all? I know that North Americans and Canadians (I guess) tend to use ''trash can'' and British people tend to use ''rubbish bin''. But my main doubt is about the use of ''rubbish bin'' and ''bin'' for both. Apart from the explanation, it would be great if you could add images to your answer :) By the way, is there any difference between ''trash can'' and ''trashcan'' ?

Jul 11, 2016 3:31 PM

Answers · 8

There's no difference between saying 'Put it in the rubbish bin' and 'Put it in the bin'. There are other types of bins, such as dustbins (large bins out of doors, usually for household waste) and wastepaper bins (smaller ones indoors), also recycling bins, and so on, but in most cases, the word 'bin' is sufficient. If you say 'Throw it in the bin', it's clear what you mean. There is no need to say 'rubbish bin', because it is obvious what you mean.

July 11, 2016

In AmE we GENERALLY use 'bin' to talk about a place to store items for future use. Contrast this with the Brit use of bins for 'chucking' (throwing away) things. We have storage bins for grain, coal, etc. A warehouse and big-box store use bins to organize things until needed. We also might have a mud room in the house where we have bins for shoes, gloves and the like. We also use recycling bins.

July 11, 2016