BART gets some shiny new trash cans

Four downtown stations get receptacles as long as they ‘do not present any new challenges’

By Eddie Kim

9:30 AM PDT on July 10, 2026

A new trash can at the Montgomery BART platform. Photo: Matt Haber / Gazetteer SF

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San Francisco might have a national stereotype as a forward-thinking, composting-obsessed, environmentalist haven, but when it comes to finding a trash can, it can be strangely difficult.

The city’s efforts on this front have been convoluted and expensive, but now, in a bold move, BART has decided that the people deserve trash cans on (some of) its platforms.

On July 1, the transit agency installed trash cans in its four downtown San Francisco underground stations: Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, and Civic Center. The placement is on a “trial basis,” BART spokesperson Christopher Filippi told Gazetteer SF.

“We hope the addition of the cans will be the latest enhancement to the overall rider experience building on previous improvements,” Filippi added.

Those past improvements include the installation of the anti-fare-jumping “Next Generation” fare gates at all stations, increased station cleanings, the addition of elevator attendants at all downtown stations, and the reopening of restrooms at Embarcadero, Montgomery, and Powell Street stations.

BART plans to make the cans permanent and add more to other underground stations if they “do not present any new challenges” and help keep the platforms, tracks, and stations clean, added BART spokesperson Alicia Trost.

There is no timeline to review the trial, so expect the cans to stick around for now, unless someone trashes them.