I have only the base game. I moved new sims into a new lot which at the time appeared to have both a mailbox and a trashcan.

1. A few days into their life they started getting messages that they didn't have an outdoor trashcan. The first time, I saw that the trashcan had disappeared, so I replaced it from the catalog, and the sim emptied the trash from the kitchen. A sim day or so later, I got the same message, but the can had not disappeared. I looked in buydebug with bb.showhiddenobjects but I only found the same trashcans. However, I used the other likely one, and now they have two, but the sim was able to empty the trash can. Am I going to have to buy a new trash can every time the trash needs emptying, or does anybody know an answer to this?

2. I tried having my sim call for a date and I got the message that the call had dropped because my sim was off the grid but they're not! I don't have the expansion pack! I see that other people have been having this problem since June but I don't see a fix? Does anybody know of one, or does my sim have to just live without a phone? Computers work for my sim.

Well, I gathered one piece of information. Maybe I'm getting cell phone interference because I have the cheap toilet and sink in the house? This is beyond dumb, since I can't generate power with only the basegame.

1. Are you getting your outdoor bin from debug?
you don't need bb.showhiddenobjects to see the outdoor bins, they're all under the.. bin image in the Outdoor section when you go by room in the catalog.

if you were using a normal bin which isn't a debug item, it's possible that it got filled even without you having Eco Lifestyle, as it's a current bug,
and then you couldn't use it anymore (and couldn't empty it without Eco Lifestyle installed)

bug report you should Me Too if that's the case:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Repor...it/td-p/9170182
bug fix made by LittleMsSam (ECO Living Trashcan Fix) can be found here:
https://littlemssam.tumblr.com/post...andom-small-bug

2. bug report to Me Too: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Repor...id/td-p/9169520
there is no fix for it afaik, but if you're using UI Cheats you can simply right click the moodlet so it will be gone until the next time your sim will be using their phone..
(it has nothing to do with cheap toilets.. I have the high-end ones and still get those OTG buffs when my sims use their phone)

1. I used the bin from the regular catalog once, and once from hiddenobjects, but s you say, they are the same bins. The message I got was "(Sim) needs an outdoor trashcan to empty the trash." Not "the outdoor trash can is full," but there is none.

2. The moodlet goes away but so does the phone call, I think? Some of the time anyway. You're sure it has nothing to do with objects on the lot? Because I saw somewhere that having Off the Grid objects caused the behavior, and my game says that these are Off the Grid Objects.

3. How do I even pay bills in this game? The "pay bills" option is greyed out, but according to the popup when I "check bills information," my sim owes a boatload of taxes and fees. Much of which is in a puzzling format as if my sims had solar panels and should be selling power to the electric company, which, of course, they can't.

Thank you for the Me Too tip and links, I've done my bit. I'll play a wee bit longer and see if I should download the fix, too, thanks for that link too!

1. I don't think you should use the debug bins, as I don't think they work. not sure what's the issue though.
you could try using LittleMsSam's fix anyways and see if it helps..
or maybe use the bin that gives you money back (which is also a bit bugged atm but nothing serious, and there's a fix for it here ), which doesn't require an outdoor bin and never gets full.

2. I might have other OTG items on the lot, perhaps candles would do it? Idk.
I didn't look too deep into the bug report thread as I just right click the moodlet whenever it shows up, until they'll fix it.

3. You need to wait for the mail service to actually come and deliver the bills into your sim's mailbox before you get the option to pay it
there's a chance of them arriving at 8am of any of the week days, except for Sundays. but it's usually on Mondays.