The ThE repLubic of THE TrAsh is a massive, cultured nation, ruled by mr dump truck with an iron fist, and renowned for its prohibition of alcohol, keen interest in outer space, and disturbing lack of elderly people. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 269 million trash cans, 32 million of whom are zombies, are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The large, corrupt, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government is primarily concerned with Defense, although Administration, Law & Order, and Spirituality are also considered important, while Welfare and International Aid receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of mr happys funland. The average income tax rate is 49.3%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The trash economy, worth 239 trillion scraps a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is an enormous, deeply entrenched, quite specialized black market in Arms Manufacturing, Basket Weaving, Uranium Mining, and Furniture Restoration. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 84,008 scraps, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Stone wrist watches that weigh 20lb are the latest trend, politicians literally speak literally, cynics say that mr dump truck's speeches are a leading cause of death, and the words 'private' and 'enterprise' must never appear in the same sentence. Crime is a major problem, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. THE TrAsh's national animal is the pigeon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies, and its national religion is violetism.

THE TrAsh is ranked 3,842^nd in the world and 1^st in Trashland for Nudest, with 1,205 cheeks per square mile.