Politics

San Francisco Spent $550K And Four Years Designing A New Trash Can. Here Are The Results

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Laurel Duggan Social Issues and Culture Reporter
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San Francisco’s city government spent $550,000 designing a new trash can through a four-year-long process which included a design contest and trial run, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Each model of the newly-selected “Slim Silhouette” will cost $2,000 to $3,000, but prototypes the city tested out cost $12,000 to $20,000 each, according to the Chronicle. The city had tested out six models over the summer, three of which were custom-designed. (RELATED: Small Businesses Revolt Over Liberal City’s Open-Air Drug Markets)

“$20,000 a can is ridiculous,” then-supervisor Supervisor Matt Haney said, according to the Chronicle.

The city chose the model because it’s tamper-resistant, easy to clean and durable; the city’s public works website boasts that the design “make[s] rummaging more difficult” and that the stainless steel pipe construction leaves “less space for graffiti tags.” The trash can has openings for trash and recycling, a curved top to discourage people from leaving items on top of it, and is mostly transparent since its exterior is made of spaced out metal pipes.

“We’ve gone through a comprehensive feedback process, and we are excited to be moving forward with the new public trash can design,” interim Public Works director Carla Short told the outlet. “The new design will be one of our tools in improving the street and sidewalk cleanliness in San Francisco.”

San Francisco’s public works department did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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