mike wrote:
Hi, I live in a very windy area and my neighbors and I are having
problems with trash cans getting knocked over because of the strong
wind gusts, as well as the lids opening up.

I am trying to come up with a way of weighing down both the bottom and
the lid of the trash cans so that:

1) The lid doesn't open up when trash is set out to be picked up.
2) The empty can doesn't blow away after the trash has been picked up.

I cannot simply tie weights to the cans because they will flail around
when the trash cans are emptied by the mechanical arm of the trash
truck. The weights also have to be able to stay secured even when the
can is shaken upside down when it is emptied.

Also, the weights need to be easily attachable/removeable since it's
only windy a few months out of the year, and I cannot seriously alter
the trash cans since they are city property.

I was thinking of bolting on something that can hold the weights
themselves, and when the weights are not needed, they can be removed
while the thing that holds the weights stays permanently attached. I
haven't found anything that would do the job for this.

Any other ideas?

It's a little hard since you cannot attach anything to it. Maybe if you
created like a small box that your can could sit in that is box shaped
with enough room for the mechanical arms to grip it. It'd probably have
to be about 24-36 inches high. That would probably solve the blowing
down the street problem. I'm not sure how to solve the lid flapping
problem.