Back in what feels like a former life, I used to buy and sell (mostly buy) arcade machines. Some of these machines were purchased through individuals, but most of my collection came from arcade auctions. Most of the auctions I attended were specifically for selling arcade games (with the occasional slot machine thrown in for good measure), but a few of them were held after arcades, restaurants, or other businesses had permanently closed their doors. These auctions were always interesting because along with arcade cabinets they would auction off other random items like kitchen appliances and dining room chairs. Because most of the crowd had come for the arcade games, you could often get a good deal on those unrelated items.

In 2008, I attended an auction for a bingo hall that had gone out of business. Not only were they auctioning off several arcade games (I came home with a working Zaxxon machine for $50!), but everything in the building. Mostly I remember tables and chairs — lots and lots of tables and chairs — but toward the end of the auction, they began auctioning trash cans. They were green plastic 20-gallon Rubbermaid trash cans with handles on both sides.

If you’ve never been to an auction, sometimes they sell things “times the money.” This usually happens when the auction has multiple similar items that they know will probably go to separate buyers. Once the highest bid has been accepted, the winning bidder gets his or her choice of how many of the items they want at that price, and if they don’t buy them all, backup bidders can also purchase items from the lot at that same price. For example, at one auction I attended there were over a hundred slot machines for sale and the winning bidder (who had bid $200) had the option of buying one or all of the machines at that price. He bought five, and then other bidders were given the option of buying some of the remaining slot machines at that same price. If you don’t pay attention at these types of auctions, you might accidentally come home with 300 keyboards.

Back at the Bingo auction, I had already purchased the Zaxxon machine and was hanging out in the wings when they began selling off everything else in the building, including those green plastic trash cans. I didn’t bid on the trash cans, but the winning bid was 50 cents per trash can, and the auctioneer said everyone could buy as many trash cans as they wanted at 50 cents per trash can.

So, I bought 10.

I gave some of the trash cans to my buddy Jeff and a couple to my dad, which left me with five, I think. I have been using those trash cans in my garage and workshop since 2008. In my mind, I had purchased a lifetime supply of trash cans, but I never considered that they might eventually wear out. They were far from new when I bought them, and over the years the rubber material has started to become brittle. The handles and sides on most of them are beginning to break. I went so far as to double stack a few of the cans; I’ve got one with busted handles but good sides that I placed inside a second one with good handles but a busted bottom. When the handle finally broke off the last remaining “good” one, I knew it was time to retire the old trash cans and buy a new one.

My new trash can cost $20 (or in auction terms, the same as 40 of those old green ones), and I hope it lasts at least as long as my 50 cent trashcans did. That leaves me with one remaining dilemma: how do you throw away a trash can?