Know everything about What Can A Garbage Truck Crush? Garbage trucks are used to collect garbage throughout the city. This means that they need to be able to handle what is thrown in them, but what can a garbage truck crush?
Garbage trucks are typically equipped with a hydraulic compactor which helps them get rid of large items that cannot fit into the truck. The compactor will then squeeze these items until they are small enough for the truck to take back.
The force of an earthbound garbage truck compactor is 16.2 MPa, which works out to almost 160 atmospheres in pressure! a 33 feet (10 meters) deep dive increases the atmospheric pressure on you by 1 atm per foot traveled underwater.

So if we go about our normal depth for reference purposes and say that one atmosphere equals 15 pounds per square inch (psi), then increasing your workload from land level up would be like adding over 10 tons onto what’s already there without taking anything away.*
In addition, Submarine ratings show us how close some modern nuclear subs can get before being crushed beneath their own weight: less than halfway down 2400 ft., 4500 psi, so what can a garbage truck crush?
Table of Contents
Things That a Garbage Truck Can Crush Easily
- Old clothes
- Shoes
- Books
- Trash cans
- Broken furniture pieces
- Car tires
- Garbage trucks can crush containers that are not in good condition
- Garbage trucks can also crush cans, bottles, and other items made of glass or metal
- Garbage trucks cannot crush things like rocks or stones because they are too hard to break up with the truck’s blades
- Garbage trucks cannot crush anything that is alive (like animals) because it would be dangerous for the driver to do so
- The only thing you should put in your garbage bin outside of your house are things that will not cause any harm when crushed by a garbage truck
Can A Garbage Truck Crush A Car?
Yes, but it generally depends on the size of the car and whether or not the car is an SUV. If you’re in a smaller car like a Camaro, there’s a better chance that your car will end up crushed if you get hit by a garbage truck.
Or for instance, I’ve had some friends who’ve been in minivans, and their cars got crushed while we were out on our weekend adventures. Their SUV didn’t even have any damage to it!
Can a garbage truck crush wood?
Answer: It depends, but usually, garbage trucks have a compactor that will throw anything in its path into the back of the truck. Because garbage trucks are designed to collect different types of waste and only need enough room for this, we might assume they couldn’t do something like crush wood easily.
However, some garbage trucks can still compact objects even though they’re not good at crushing them because mulch and sheets of plywood may be easier to compress than absolutely hard materials like metals and plastics.
Contrary to what people often think about how things work with trash, there’s no one answer that is accurate all of the time; it would depend on many factors such as type of material scraped up by the truck, weight/space available in the truck and what machinery they’re using.
Some garbage trucks can crush wood, but it would depend on what type of compactor is being used with that particular vehicle to determine whether or not it could be crushed easily.
How Strong Is A Garbage Truck Compactor?
A compactor truck’s weight varies from around 12,000lbs to 22,000lbs when full. The strength of a compactor is usually in the four to the six-ton range. Compacted recyclables are often compacted up to eight times and can be 4-5 feet deep and 8-12 feet long.
Conclusion
The garbage truck can crush anything that is smaller than the size of its mouth. This includes old furniture, paper, cardboard boxes, and more! That’s all we have on What Can A Garbage Truck Crush?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a garbage truck crush garbage?
Yes. A garbage truck has a compactor that pushes down on the top of the pile of rubbish as it is bundled onto the back of the vehicle. This is what forces out most of those pesky items, but it doesn’t always work as efficiently as one might hope because “garbage” may also include things like shoes, wire hangers, and plastic bags, all of which do not really break down very quickly and can be all too stubborn to get through machines like these.
Do waste Management trucks have cameras?
Yes, waste trucks are equipped with cameras to monitor the inventory. The cameras can show wherever any container is tilted or otherwise moved out of place without permission. Containers are required to be tended by two men at all times during loading for this reason.
Hi, I am Muhammad Daim – an automotive lover and researcher. I am a co-founder at AutomotiveGuider.com. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science but cars and trucks have always been my passion. My goal is to always learn new skills and share my experience with the world.