Castro district gets high-tech bins for trash
By the end of the summer, the sidewalks of San Francisco’s busiest corridors will be dotted with another 20 new high-tech trash bins — a small step in combatting the city’s big problem with dirty streets.
At 150 gallons, the self-compacting receptacles, called Bigbelly containers, can accommodate nearly five times as much trash, recyclables and compost materials in separate compartments, compared with traditional 32-gallon, wire-mesh trash cans. And, unlike traditional trash cans, Bigbelly bins are designed to keep the stuff inside, away from whipping winds or rummaging hands.
So far, five Bigbellies have been installed in the Castro district, from Harvey Milk Plaza to 14th Street. Sandra Zuniga, director of the city’s Fix-It Team, which is overseeing their installation, said the bins were placed there because the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District was able to swiftly approve where they
“This is another step toward a much larger commitment to cleaning the streets of San Francisco.”
Mayor Mark Farrell
would be installed.
“This is another step toward a much larger commitment to cleaning the streets of San Francisco,” said Mayor Mark Farrell, who unveiled a twoyear, $12.8 million budget proposal for street cleaning last week. “The status quo is unacceptable, and I’m going to fund programs and push policies that work and have an effect on our streets.”
While the city is adding 20 new bins, there are dozens of Bigbelly containers already scattered across the city. Union Square has 20 of them, Zuniga said. Waste hauler Recology will continue its trash pickup duties at the new bins as well.
Zuniga is working with the city’s community benefit districts — merchant groups that tax themselves to provide additional services like sidewalk cleaning and street ambassadors — to determine exactly where the bins should be placed. The community benefits districts are leasing the bins, with funding from the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Each of the 20 new bins will cost $3,000 per year to lease, and OEWD has also set aside $15,000 for maintenance or other unforeseen expenses for all the bins.
“We’re also working around Central Market, Civic Center and a few locations in the Tenderloin — places that have a lot of foot traffic and transportation options, those are the areas where we’ll be putting in cans, working with the CBDs,” Zuniga said.
The bins are also solarpowered and send data directly to Zuniga indicating how full they are. Zuniga said she’ll be monitoring that data to determine whether the bins can be serviced less frequently. Currently, all of the Bigbellies are emptied three times each day.