Jameine Clark
January 20, 2014
ENGL 110-03
Professor Eric Hyman
When Life Gives You Trash, Make Lemonade The wastebasket is often used but often overlooked. Although simple in design, it has a huge responsibility. With a more in-depth analysis the wastebasket revealed symbolic examples of how to live life.
In front of the class sits a wastebasket (or trash can), standing approximately 18 inches tall. Just by looking at the waste basket I see that it is an opaque blue color with the exception of the white recycle logo on the front. The wastebasket is approximately two feet from the entrance of the class. On the outside, the rectangular wastebasket appears to be pretty clean. As I observed more closely, I see that a transparent bag loosely fit inside of the trash can with its edges hanging over the side. Inside of the bag are different things that people found no longer useful, such as gum, potato chip bags, candy wrappers, and tissue amongst other things. The trash can is not as spotless as it appears from the outside. I even went as far as picking the wastebasket up to find a bar code and inscribed words that read, “Made by Continental Manufacturing Company” on the bottom, beside a barcode. Also on the bottom, are indentions that I am guessing were made during the manufacturing process. The bottom of the trash can appears to be bigger in diameter than the top, probably to allow one to stack the cans on top of each other.
The trash can serves as a container in which the public can properly dispose of their non-hazardous waste materials. Plastic bottles, glass bottles, paper, tissue, chewing gum, candy wrappers, and cardboard are just a few of the numerous items that can be found in the wastebasket. The recycling logo on the front of the container indicates that the items you place in the bucket will be recycled (if possible). By recycling your undesirables, new materials can be made out of old materials, which is an eco-friendly and efficient way of handling garbage.
Day in, and day out, the wastebasket sits in a designated area, fulfilling the duties that it was created for. Many people overlook the importance of the wastebasket despite the fact that they may use one multiple times during the day. If all trash cans were to suddenly disappear, our world would be quickly turned into a giant landfill because there would be no place to hold the trash. Instead of a person placing their dirty tissues in a local trash can, they would simply throw it on the ground. Imagine every waste bucket, trash can, and recycling basket in the country being dumped of its contents all along the ground. Bloody tissues, tampons, spoiled diapers, and worse would just be lying around spreading contaminants. The trash can has a very important role but receives little recognition for the services it provides.
The wastebasket is more meaningful than it may appear to be at first glance. Its location beside the door is significant because as you walk through the door, you can cast all your negative energies and thoughts in the waste basket. By doing this,