San Francisco has had a tremendous garbage problem for a while. I’m talking trash here; and this has people trash-talking. The city of San Francisco that is. 

City officials are at a loss as to how to control it. So, they decided to get tough. First, they put up “Do Not Litter” signs. Then they modified them to say, “Please Do Not Litter,” because residents found the first one so offensive. Then they tried “Don’t Be a Litter Bug” signs as a way of shaming people.  And nothing has seemed to work.  They’re at wits' end. Now it appears nearby Silicon Valley is coming to the rescue with a high-tech solution. And it comes with a high-tech price tag. 

And this future of garbage receptacle prototypes finally arrived in San Francisco a few weeks ago. They are sleek, modern, efficient, made of stainless steel and cost around $20,000 apiece.  

Now you’re probably wondering why the price is so high. Well, with models sporting such chic names as Salt and Pepper, Slim Silhouette, Soft Square, Bear Saver, Ren Bin, and Open Wire Mesh, it kind of puts a stop to your wondering. Where are these being designed?  Milan?

These rubbish bins look so modern and high tech, people might not think they’re garbage cans at all, but some piece of overpriced artwork the city paid for to improve the image of the city. Maybe they should contemplate adding a “This is a Trash Can” sign on the garbage cans to ease the confusion. 

A little of the back story may help decipher why the costs zoomed out of control. First, the idea to replace the older garbage cans was made by a convicted federal criminal they hired at an exorbitant salary. Secondly, they hired yet another confessed federal criminal to design one of the prototype garbage cans. Hmmm, I still can’t figure out where this whole program went wrong. Seems well-thought out and legitimate enough to me. I just don’t get it. 

Most people would say the garbage cans are another example of government waste. But the city says that’s absolutely rubbish. If they don’t work out in the end, I guess they can always dismantle them and then deposit them in another $20,000 recycle bin down the street.  

These final two prototypes trash bins recently had their ribbon cutting last week. This included the ceremonial first deposit of San Francisco litter which included a soda can, candy wrapper and a discarded syringe. This was a rare occasion indeed as most litter never sees the inside of a trash can in parts of that fabled City by the Bay. 

What I can’t figure out is why the city streets are so clean in countries like Japan and Germany where there are practically no public garbage cans available. Maybe we should hire the Japanese and the Germans to fix our litter problem. 

These new trash receptacles are designed to discourage and make it difficult for people to rummage through the bins emptying the contents all over the sidewalk. Rummaging through discarded rubbish is commonplace among the homeless community there. After all, you know what they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s garbage.”

And finally, I think what’s needed is a change in attitude among the residents more than anything else. They just need to tap into that entrepreneurial feeling so prevalent in Silicon Valley across the bay where they have that “trash-can-do spirit.”