| Director | Paul Morrissey |
|---|---|
| Budget | $30,000 |
| Box office | $3 million |
Trash follows Joe (Joe Dallesandro), a heroin addict wandering through New York City over the course of a single day. Living with his dramatic but devoted girlfriend Holly (Holly Woodlawn), Joe has a series of chaotic encounters. Their Lower East Side apartment serves as the film's center, where arguments, reconciliations, and improvised schemes—such as Holly's attempt to secure welfare benefits—play out.
Joe drifts from one situation to another, meeting an array of eccentric characters, including a go-go dancer (Geri Miller), a welfare investigator (Michael Sklar), and the frustrated upper-class couple played by Jane Forth and Bruce Pecheur. The scenes blend dark humor and moments of tenderness, revealing the instability and codependency at the heart of Joe and Holly's relationship. By nightfall, they return home, exhausted but still tied to each other, and the film ends without resolution.