San Francisco’s Trash Bins – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

Why We Need a Better Trash Can

For a long time, San Francisco searched for the perfect trash can. They thought that a better bin meant cleaner streets. In 2021 we looked at the competition and now we can report the results. But also, this year, they came up with the best bin of all. Let’s take a look. In charge of trash, San Francisco’s Public Works department hypothesized that more trash bins would achieve their goal of cleaner streets. Legend tells us (might not be true) that Walt Disney observed he needed a trash can for every 30 steps a person walked. However, after a pilot project, San Francisco realized that even with a can in sight people dropped their wrappers. They did though decide that location mattered. ….[READ]