Garbage truck coloring pages
Free printable garbage trucks · Ages 3-7
A garbage truck is the truck that picks up the rubbish bins at the end of every street, every week. Kids who've watched the bin-lifting arm grab a wheelie bin already know this is one of the most satisfying vehicles to draw. The arm, the giant rear hopper and the compactor inside are all visible on the page.
- Used for
- Collecting household and commercial waste
- Operator
- Driver + 1-2 collectors
- Compactor
- Squashes waste to 1/4 its original volume
- Best for
- Ages 3-7
About this vehicle
Meet the garbage truck
A garbage truck is the truck that picks up the rubbish bins at the end of every street, every week. Kids who've watched the bin-lifting arm grab a wheelie bin already know this is one of the most satisfying vehicles to draw. The arm, the giant rear hopper and the compactor inside are all visible on the page.
- Used for
- Collecting household and commercial waste
- Operator
- Driver + 1-2 collectors
- Compactor
- Squashes waste to 1/4 its original volume
- Best for
- Ages 3-7
Coloring tips
How to color a garbage truck
Garbage trucks come in a lot of colours — bright green, dark blue, white, yellow. The mechanical bin-lifter on the side or back should be a contrasting darker colour (often black or grey). Add a wheelie bin (green or blue or grey) being lifted into the back to give the page a story.
Looking for more in the same style? Browse the other construction vehicles or head back to the full vehicles hub.
Step-by-step
How to color this garbage truck
Five short steps that work for any age. Crayons, colored pencils and markers all work — pick whichever your child reaches for first.
Print the page
Save the garbage truck coloring page to your device, then print it on standard letter or A4 paper. Thicker paper (around 90 gsm or 60 lb) handles markers without bleed-through; regular printer paper is fine for crayons and colored pencils.
Construction yellow first
The whole vehicle gets one safety-yellow base coat — that's the iconic color of every excavator, bulldozer and crane. Press lightly so the line work stays visible underneath.
Black mechanical detail
Hydraulic arms, tracks, bucket teeth, exhaust pipes — all the mechanical bits look best in solid black. The contrast against the yellow body is what makes construction pages so striking.
Build a job site
Brown patches of dirt under the wheels or tracks, a small pile of rocks, and an orange safety cone in the background turn the page into a tiny construction project.
Finishing touches
When the colors are where you want them, trace the main outlines with a thin black pen to make the garbage truck pop off the page. Date the back, snap a photo for the family album, then stick the finished page on the fridge.
What you'll need
A quick supplies checklist
Don't have everything? A printer, a piece of paper and a single crayon is enough to get started. The rest is optional.
Printer
Color or black-and-white both work. Set the print size to 'fit to page' and use letter or A4 paper.
Paper
Standard 20 lb (75 gsm) printer paper for crayons; 60+ lb (90+ gsm) for markers so the ink doesn't bleed.
Crayons
Best for ages 3-5 — forgiving on small hands, no smearing, and bright enough to feel finished in minutes.
Colored pencils
Best for ages 6+ and adults — perfect for shading, blending and the detailed pattern variants.
Markers
Bold, fast results. Pair with heavier paper so the ink stays on the page and doesn't soak through.
Did you know?
Garbage truck fun facts to share while you color
Read these out loud — a 20-minute coloring session doubles as a vehicle-curriculum moment.
A garbage truck can compact rubbish into a quarter of its original volume.
Some modern garbage trucks have side-mounted robot arms that pick up bins automatically.
A single garbage truck collects waste from up to 1,000 homes per shift.
The first motorised garbage truck appeared in the 1920s — before that, bins were emptied by horse-drawn carts.
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FAQ
Garbage truck coloring pages — FAQ
- Are these garbage truck coloring pages free to print?
- Yes — every garbage truck coloring page on this site is free to download, print and color for personal, classroom and library use. No watermark, no signup.
- What age are garbage truck coloring pages best for?
- Ages 3-7. The arm, the giant rear hopper and the compactor inside are all visible on the page.
- What colors should I use for a garbage truck?
- Garbage trucks come in a lot of colours — bright green, dark blue, white, yellow. The mechanical bin-lifter on the side or back should be a contrasting darker colour (often black or grey). Add a wheelie bin (green or blue or grey) being lifted into the back to give the page a story.
- What is a garbage truck used for?
- Driver + 1-2 collectors. Collecting household and commercial waste.
- What other vehicles are similar to a garbage truck?
- Try our dump truck, tow truck, fire truck coloring pages — kids who finish a garbage truck page usually move to those next.
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