North Beach gets custom pizza box trash cans
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A very North Beach solution to a very North Beach problem. Photo: Nadia Lopez/Axios
Pizza lovers in North Beach now have pizza box-shaped trash cans to dump their boxes in.
State of play: Waste management provider Recology San Francisco and the city's Department of Public Works installed two of the specialized receptacles last week to keep people from jamming empty pizza boxes into existing bins or leaving them in the street.
Between the lines: The two new custom trash cans sit on both ends of Stockton Street between Filbert and Union streets by Washington Square and feature wide slots that can accommodate most boxes without bending or stuffing.
- The park is only a few steps away from popular pizzerias like Tony's Pizza Napoletana, Golden Boy and Flour & Water, making it an ideal test case since it's a hotspot for takeout meals and picnics.
- Similar pizza box bins were piloted in New York City's Central Park in 2024 and later adopted citywide.
The intrigue: The specialty bins, designed by San Francisco illustrator Sirron Norris, feature eye-catching, colorful artwork with illustrations of North Beach landmarks, Italian iconography and a greasy pizza box.
What's next: More bins could be added in the neighborhood or citywide based on how often they're used and how much litter they prevent.