SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Department of Public Works selected three new trash can prototypes to present to the Arts Commission Civic Design Review Committee. The new trash cans are believed to reduce the amount of litter and trash scavengers.
There are more than 3,000 trash cans on the sidewalks and public plazas of the city of San Francisco. Each new trash can will cost $2,000-$4,000. The three chosen cans are a salt and pepper, sim silhouette, and soft square can design. If the presentation at Civic Design Review is successful, five of each trash can design will be installed for real-life testing.
“Our new cans will cost $2,000-4,000. Like other cities. And to get the highest performing can, we are prototyping 3 designs. The prototypes are expensive but they’ll ensure the best, must tamper-proof and durable can,” said Public Works in a Twitter Announcement.
The trash cans that are currently installed in San Francisco do a good job at combating litter, but do not prevent scavengers from digging into trash and leaving behind a mess, according to the SF Public Works. The new trash cans are designed to make it difficult to reach back in and pull out discarded materials.
“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 in a statement. “All three contending designs meet our requirements conceptually: They are durable, hard to tamper with, easy to service and aesthetically pleasing.”
Comments will be collected from the public, non-profit partners, Recology, and Public Works crews about how the new prototypes are performing. The input will be used to make the decision on the winning design.
