Earlier today, SF Public Works, along with Mayor Ed Lee and District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, rolled out a pilot program to increase the number of sidewalk trash cans on Mission Street. The program, dubbed “Yes We Can!,” aims to reduce street litter in the neighborhood.

As part of the program, an additional 38 garbage cans have been installed along Mission Street between 14th and Cesar Chavez streets. That brings the total number of sidewalk garbage cans to 73, out of roughly 3,200 total sidewalk cans across San Francisco.

If successful, “Yes We Can!” will expand to other neighborhoods across San Francisco.

“Through this pilot program, we will be able to provide additional resources to the Mission, and help keep this neighborhood clean, safe and welcoming for everyone," Supervisor Ronen said in a press release.

It's a major reversal in policy from a decade ago, when the city removed over 1,000 public trash cans, because of problems with scavengers rummaging through garbage cans and dispersing trash on sidewalks.



Photo: Franco Folini/Flickr

According to a press release, Public Works plans to track 311 service requests in the area, to see whether the new receptacles decrease the number of litter-driven complaints from Mission neighbors.

Because area residents often use street trash cans to illegally dump trash that should be picked up at their private properties, Public Works’ operations chief, Larry Stringer, said that one of the goals of the pilot program is to add more places for neighbors to dispose of trash properly.

The pilot program was launched alongside Mission Giant Sweep, a one-month intensive cleanup, outreach and enforcement campaign that launched last fall, and has been rolled out in Chinatown and the Excelsior.

Over the next 30 days, the Public Works Outreach and Enforcement (OnE) Team will provide educational materials to property and business owners regarding waste disposal and code requirements, and conduct on-site inspections.

During the program's implementation, the OnE Team will target Mission and Valencia streets between 15th and 20th streets, as well as 16th Street between Mission and Guerrero streets.

