Late last year, the system of Huntington Beach modernized its sanitation system by issuing new standardized garbage cans which would:

1. Allow the garbage collection vehicles to automatically (mechanically) handle the garbage cans, and
2. Require trash to be pre-sorted by households into trash, recyclables, and yard vegetation

An added bonus to this system is that our neighborhood on trash day, because of its rows of multi-colored bins diligently arrayed along the curbside, looks to me like some utopian Whoville out of the little-known Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Things We Can Trash!

(not a real book.)

The Sum sisters would jump for joy, who for years have nagged at me to recycle. But before, we did recycle. You see, Huntington Beach was awesome because, unlike the other cities, we had people who sorted out our recyclables at the trash collection site!

So actually the city is just getting lazier. Now we have to sort our own trash instead of having it done for us, and the trashmen don’t even have to get out of the driver’s seat to dump our cans!

But my real complaint lies in the design of the standardized trash cans. Look at this:

As you can see, the wheels and handle are on the same side, the hind side. This design is frustratingly inefficient, as it:

1. Requires unnecessary effort to move (to get the original leverage to tilt it back on its hind wheels), and
2. Does not hold maximal volume due to its designed mobility method.

Actually, it wouldn’t be so frustrating if the solution weren’t as simple as moving the handle to the other side. Observe:

To tilt the trash can back, you need to apply that much torque to get it on its rear wheel far enough that you can push the can forward. Why not put the handle in the front, opposite the wheels?

Now, if you simply pull up from the handle the front side, you only need to get the front about 1 cm. off the ground and the trash can will be on its wheel. And you’ll be in the front, so you can pull it. In fact, you don’t have to pull it; it rolls naturally. As soon as the front side is off the ground, the rear wheel slides forward to compensate, and the trash can practically rolls forward itself! All you need to do is guide it.

Secondly, look at the effect on volume:

You can’t fill the can completely, or else upon tilting back, it will overflow… onto you!! You fool! You are the victim of bad design! You should have done this:

Good job! Now, since you don’t have to tilt the trash can more than 3 degrees in order to pull it, you can fill it to maximum capacity!

Huntington Beach, you have failed me! You can go take your new and “improved” trash cans and shove them in your landfill.