Could you tell me what is the difference among trash, junk, garbage?

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Alanou  #407509  Tue, 21 Aug 07 09:42 PM
Hi, everyone, nice to see you again! I have a question here, could you tell me what is the difference among trash, junk, garbage? Thanks in advance.
  
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If there is grammar misuse in my word, please kindly tell me, thanks.
Grammar Geek  #407530  Tue, 21 Aug 07 11:33 PM

Garbage is what you put in the trash can/rubbish bin. Stuff from your kitchen, used tissues, etc. plus anything else you throw away. I don't see much of a difference between garbage and trash.

Junk, on the other hand, is "stuff." Some people will tell you that junk is just trash that you haven't thrown out yet. However, junk would NOT include kitchen waste or tissues, etc. It could be anything from a broken trumpet to a kitchen device you never use.

You can walk into someone's attic and say "Wow, look at all this junk!" Don't use "trash" in that context. On the other hand, you walk into an empty lot that people have been leaving their garbage in and look at the empty soda bottles and wet cardboard and dirty diapers and say "Wow, look at all this garbage/trash." Don't use "junk" in this context.

  
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Doris May  #407741  Wed, 22 Aug 07 12:20 PM
Even if there's no much difference between garbage and trash, which one do you use with can and bin? Garbage, I presume? You can't say trash can? Can one of these be British and  another American?
  
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Grammar Geek  #407789  Wed, 22 Aug 07 02:35 PM

In fact, I used "trash can" in my post above.

I think I use them interchangeably. There's a little trash can in my bathroom, and a larger garbage bin in my kitchen. There's a huge garbage can outside my garage that gets toted the curb on trash day. Any of these could mixed-and-matched.

There are some differences, I believe, in how it's use in BE, so we'll wait for Nona or Mr. P. or another Brit to come by.

  
khoff  #408003  Thu, 23 Aug 07 12:30 AM

Often I would use them interchangeably, but I would be more likely to use "garbage" than "trash" for stuff that includes old food or other organic material.  Trash looks bad, but garbage smells bad.

  
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Alanou  #412390  Fri, 31 Aug 07 09:16 PM
Sorry, teachers, I still did not get it. I saw "trash film" in the news. They used it to describ the film is very bad and make peopel feel very sucks. Can I say " junk film" ? Cause I know western people call KFC as " junk food" . Thanks
  
Grammar Geek  #412405  Fri, 31 Aug 07 09:58 PM

I thought you meant the nouns, not the adjectives.

Junk food is high in calories without a lot of nutritional value. It's a fixed phrase.

I've not heard of "trash films" before. If you say "Oh, that film was just trash" it means it wasn't any good.

They used it to describ the film is very bad and make peopel feel very sucks-->They used it to describe the film as very bad and that peopel feel it really sucks.

  
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