Imagine a typical scene where a kid, not necessarily but often times aNerd or aGeek, meets aJerk Jock and maybe even his little gang of miscreants in a schoolyard/park/alleyway/etc. The bullies pick on the helpless little guy, maybe even playingKeep-Away with something that belongs to him or something, and eventually after beating the poor guy up they stuff him down a garbage can that's conveniently located in the area.

This trope would beTruth in Television as it is done in real life by actual bullies but it is unsure if most of the time in the Hollywood counterpart versions of this trope if this is only played for laughs or if it's mostly done in a serious manner showing how muchThe Bully overpowers the poor guy (often leading to a mix betweenPay Evil Unto Evil andRevenge of the Nerd moments or whatever).

Sometimes, the person deliberately hides in a trashcan in order to avoid being caught by people wanting to exact revenge, or sometimes for more mundane reasons such as avoiding chores, or even just to spy on people.

A related trope would beStuffed Into a Locker, although this happensmuch more.

By the way, just so things are clear,Oscar the Grouch is not related to this trope at ALL (unless if he was actually shoved into that thing by some other evil puppet*COUGH*Elmo*COUGH* and ended up getting stuck, making him immobile and thus forcing him to call the trashcan his new home and turning him into the grumpy green guy (no, notTHAT grumpy green guy) he is today).

Comic Books

• WhenArchie was told to clean the garage by his father, he disappeared with the father being angered that he'd disappear when chores are even suggested, and eventually finds Archie hiding in a trash can. Ironically, he found Archie when he himself planned on using the trash can to hide from his wife when she's suggesting he do some chores.

Film

• It is somewhat subverted in the 1982 musical,Annie, when the title character does this to a bully instead of the other way around.
• The Turtles do this to Keno, the pizza guy inTMNT 2, but it's for his own good.
• InThe Neverending Story (the film), Bastian gets his lunch money stolen and tossed into a dumpster. At the end, he gets his revenge whenhe terrifies the bullies by pursuing them on a flying luckdragon and they hide in the dumpster themselves.
• InThe Garbage Pail Kids Movie, to prevent Dodger from interfering with the fashion show, the bullies toss him into a dumpster. Only problem with this plan? He could just as easily get out of the dumpster, which he does.
• InShorts, this is what the main character has to endureevery day: stuffed head first in a trash can. It gets better though, as the girl who does it to him becomes his girlfriend.

Literature

• This is one of the humiliations suffered by the protagonist ofThe Eighteenth Emergency by Betsy Byars.
• In a related joke, one of the protagonists ofThe Plant That Ate Dirty Socks attempts to clean out his room, and through an unfortunate chain of events winds up face-down inside the box of items to throw away.
• InThe Neverending Story, Bastian mentions that kids once did this to him, when he tried to respond their insults.

Live Action TV

• Puck throws Kurt in a dumpster in the Pilot ofGlee.
  • Happens fairly frequently inGlee.
  • Early in the series theJerk Jocks trapped Artie in a porta-john and tipped it over onto the door side. He wasn't found until the next day. Note that inReal Lifethis would have serious health ramifications for Artie and criminal charges for the guys who did it.
• It happens in the Peruvian seriesEsta Sociedad.
• Gibby oniCarly.
• They did this to Rick onDegrassi.

Newspaper Comics

• The infamous comic cat,Garfield, has done this at least once to his gray kitten friend, Nermal.
• A recurring theme in the Australian newspaper comic,Ginger Meggs.

Video Games

• In the video game,Bully, you get to stuff other people into trashcans if close enough; the beating is optional. This has acted as slightVideo Game Cruelty Punishment in that sometimes you want to beat the victim, not stuff him.
  • Oddly, while victims are stuffed in and helpless, Jimmy can dive in voluntarily to hide, with no problems getting out once the heat is down and the prefects finishfailing their Spot checks. Lockers work the same in both situations.
    • Well, it's probably because he shoves them in ass-first. If you've ever thought it would be a good idea to sit on something similar to a trashcan with an opening like that, chances are you'll need help getting out.
• SomeProfessional Wrestling games reverse the trope if a garbage can is nearby; they may let you stuff the can onto a wrestler, rather than vice versa.
• Solid Snake inMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will sometimes use a dumpster as a hiding spot.

Web Comics

• This has been done to Ozy from theOzy and Millie webcomic countless times by the school'sJerk Jock, Jeremy.
• In aPenny and Aggieflashback, teenage Lynda does this to her future husband Rob after one too many flirtatious pranks on his part.
• Also happens to Roger inThe Whiteboard, though often he deserved it. Seriously you'd think a guy who makes railguns in his free time would know not to play pranks on a polar bear.
• Sandra and Woo has its own subversion as well whenCloud does this to Ralph,The Bully, after he beat another student. Done a second time by Sandra to Larisaafter one biting remark too many.

Western Animation

• This happened onThe Simpsons a couple of times.
  • In 'Bart The General', Bart was stuffed into a trashcan by Nelson and hisnow missing cronies two or three times and rolled down a hill.
  • Barney Gumble was once stuffed into a trashcan by boxer Smokin' Joe Frazier.
    • Originally it was supposed to beJoe Frazier who was to be stuffed into a trashcan byBarney. However, it was changed under the advice of Joe Frazier's son.
  • In the parody of24, Bart jams a trashcan on Nelson's head and pounds on the can toget Nelson to talk.
• Hey Arnold! had a whole episode about this. It was a yearly tradition for the fifth graders to stuff the fourth graders into trash cans on "Trash Can Day," and Arnold and Gerald worked together to figure out a way to get home safely without being canned.
• Gelman does this to Gus in an episode ofRecess
  • Hiding in a Trash-Can is actually one of Randall's favorite spots to spy on people and then rat them out. Unfortunately, if someone's going to take out the trash, he'll sometimes have the trash dumped on him.
  • In "Parents Night" Mikey hides in the trashcan outside of Spinelli's house and gets caught because it was her turn to take out the trash.

• Trope
• Narrative Devices
• The Bully
• School Tropes
• Stuffed Into a Trashcan