Bin proceeds apace and has nearly achieved NOOB status, at least judging by this sign in the restroom of a Park Slope restaurant.
Bin proceeds apace and has nearly achieved NOOB status, at least judging by this sign in the restroom of a Park Slope restaurant.
I recall hearing relatives use the term “waste bin” when I was growing up in Pennsylvania half a century ago, but from the “German” side of my family, not the “British” side. At that time, all were second-, third-, or fourth-generation Americans, and all spoke English.
At the same time, “toss” (in this context) is very American, so the sign in question is a bit of a Transatlantic dog’s dinner. We tend to use “chuck” as a variation on “throw”, rather than “toss”, but wouldn’t use it on a sign. It’s as if the sign is declaring that while “tossing” is forbidden, “flinging” might not be.
As a twenty-something American, I’ve always used “can” to refer to indoor smaller waste disposal units and “bin” to refer to larger outdoor portable canisters as well as crates.
I was doing a trade show at Wembley in the mid-80s. A woman came up and said she’d forgotten to put her mail stop on her inquiry card and wanted to add that. I told her I’d already put her card into the bin.
Her look of horror clued me in to the fact that she thought I meant the British meaning of “bin.” I had to explain that as an American, we often use “bin” as a receptacle or storage container, not the trash.