Did you know that “dumpster” is a generic trademark, falling into the same category as words like Kleenex or Band-Aid? In 1937, the Dempster brothers of Knoxville, Tennessee, patented a system called the Dempster-Dumpster, which mechanically emptied standardized metal containers. Over time, these metal containers were simply referred to as dumpsters, and the Dempster brothers’ brainchild became a household name.