I never saw a real live trash chute before coming to America. I’d seen them on TV – particularly on episodes of Friends. I am sure the Friends chute starred in at least one programme thanks to an incident with a pizza box getting stuck.
Maybe it is just because it is un-American to actually walk any further than strictly necessary that they have chutes. I understand that they are useful but I can’t help but find them slightly sinister.
There’s a chute in my weekday apartment in DC. It’s mouth is fairly innocuous – in a small room next to the lift. I mostly try to avoid it because of what might lurk at the other end. I could be imagining it but I think I can hear a distant rumbling when I feed something to the mouth of the chute – possibly some strange and scary mechanical beast that wakes when you bring it offerings. Or it could be the rubbish falling on other rubbish …but I’m not sure.