Final Design for San Francisco’s New Public Trash Cans Narrowed to Three Concepts

For Immediate Release

September 11, 2020

Contact: Beth Rubenstein, beth.rubenstein@sfdpw.org

 

 

Members of the Public Have an Opportunity to Weigh in on the Proposals Online

 

San Francisco, CA – Public Works, in collaboration with the industrial designers at the Institute for Creative Integration (ICI), has narrowed the design of the City’s new public trash cans to three final concepts. 

 

Today, there are more than 3,000 public trash cans on City sidewalks and in public plazas that serve a vital role in combatting litter. Unfortunately, many have become easy targets for scavenging, which leaves behind a mess.

 

“San Francisco is a beautiful city and keeping it clean can be a challenge. Finding the right public trash can to serve our needs at a reasonable cost has driven this design process,” said Acting Public Works Director Alaric Degrafinried. “All three contending designs meet our requirements conceptually: They are durable, hard to tamper with, easy to service and aesthetically pleasing.”

 

The look of the new cans is intended to complement the design of the new JCDecaux public toilets, now in production, the BART canopies on Market Street and the café on Civic Center Plaza. The smart cans also will be outfitted with sensors that send alerts when they’re nearing capacity so they can be emptied before they overflow.

 

The three contending designs will be presented at the Arts Commission Civic Design Review Committee on Sept. 21. Leading up to the meeting, Public Works also is soliciting initial public feedback on the designs. Comments can be made http://sfpublicworks.org/trashcanredesign

 

If given the greenlight at Civic Design Review, Public Works will have 15 prototype cans – five of each design – manufactured and installed throughout the City for real-life testing.  Comments will be solicited from residents; nonprofit partners who help keep the City clean; Recology, the private company that services the cans; neighborhood merchants; and Public Works crews, who deal with day-to-day litter cleanup. Their input will inform the decision on the final selection.

 

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