To reduce Ocean Beach trash, Park Service removes garbage bins

Maintenance worker James Brown picks up trash at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. Maintenance worker James Brown picks up trash at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close To reduce Ocean Beach trash, Park Service removes garbage bins 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

In the background, the surf broke on Ocean Beach. Revitz, 56, of the Richmond cringed in disgust.

“It’s shocking to see all of the trash lying around,” Revitz said.

In a seemingly counterintuitive move, the National Park Service has removed most of the garbage cans along Ocean Beach — in hopes of reducing litter. Park officials say the move has been successful, but neighbors and beachgoers call it a failure.

“I’m sure some people will take their trash away in the trunk of their car,” Revitz said. “But what about all of the people that take Muni and ride bikes? I get the idea in theory. But I don’t know if it’s going to happen at Ocean Beach.”

Last week, nine bins were carted off between Stairwells 1 and 14. Ten remain between Stairwells 16 and 27, which are near fire pits on the north end of the beach. Their elimination is part of a trial program to see if fewer trash cans will encourage beach visitors to pack out their rubbish. The Park Service hasn’t set an end date for the trial yet.

“If trash really starts to accumulate, we are going to put the trash cans back,” said Adrienne Freeman, public affairs specialist for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. “But we are seeing a cleaner beach. People have started taking personal responsibility for the beach that they use.”

Success at other beaches

The removal of trash cans has proved effective at Stinson Beach in Marin County and Baker Beach in San Francisco. Trash on Ocean Beach has long been an issue, but removing trash cans to encourage users to properly dispose of their garbage might seem like an odd incentive. And some beach users and residents who live nearby are frustrated over the trash piles mounting where garbage receptacles were once available.

Scott Hutter, 30, of Mill Valley surfs at Ocean Beach several times a month. He said that, after surfing up and down the West Coast for the past 15 years, he has noticed that beaches with more trash cans tend to stay cleaner.

“The program is already showing signs of failure based on some of the pictures I’ve seen,” Hutter said. “I think their intentions were correct. But hoping people will just get it and carry their own trash home is a bad idea. Personally, if I had a bunch of garbage and I was cleaning up from an event, the last thing I would want to do is bring all of the damp trash to my car and throw it in.”

Others have complained that getting rid of the bins hurts efforts to keep the beach clean. Eve Thompson, 69, of the Richmond regularly walks along the beach and picks up stray bottles and chip bags that have washed ashore. But those efforts probably won’t continue.

“You can be sure I won’t be picking up trash now because there’s nowhere to put it,” Thompson said. “There are all sorts of garbage piling up in the walkways. People are lazy, and it’s highly unrealistic to expect them to take their trash with them. We want the trash containers back.”

‘We’re getting the word out’

But Freeman of the GGNRA maintains that the program has been successful in its short history. The progress could be attributed to the program starting during the off-season when fewer people patronize the beach.

“Early results seem to be positive,” she said. “Our initial reaction is that we have a cleaner beach. We have seen this program be successful before on our other beaches, and I think it will prove true in Ocean Beach as well. We’re getting the word out that you should pack out what you brought in.”

Park officials are also considering replacing the cans with fewer — but larger — canisters. A similar program was successfully implemented at Fort Mason about a year ago. Freeman said they are still deciding what to do.

“We are considering consolidating so we can get more trash into the container,” she said. “It really is a process. We are going to try things and be creative and innovative and ultimately make the beach a safer and cleaner place.”

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @lizziejohnsonnn