This is fun. I grew up on the other side of the world (albeit a "western" culture), and was also amazed by garbage trucks from the day I remember. The whole lift/squash mechanism, their bright orange color (in our parts), the ease by which they lift the containers, the colored control lights/buttons on the side which the cleaners use to operate the lift, the blinkers. And made funny noises. It was something straight out of the toy shop, in full size! I wanted to be a waste collector when I grow up. My parents were keen to make fun of me because of that once I enrolled in PhD studies.

Same goes for fire trucks, I had multiple fire engine toys. But a fire truck is a rare thing to see in action in person, so I guess that's why it was easier to relate to the loud trashcan on wheels :-) .