09/29/2026
If you’ve walked past Wishy Washy lately, you may have noticed our public trash can has been going through some things.
Here’s the short version:
For the past two years, I’ve been keeping an eye on the public trash can outside Wishy Washy. It’s not actually our responsibility, but it IS right outside our front door and I care about keeping our corner clean.
Over time, we’ve made real progress. The furniture and random large items that used to pile up around it have become pretty rare.
Then the trash can itself started falling apart.
First, the door broke. Then the door disappeared. Then the actual inner trash can disappeared, leaving behind an empty metal shell that people understandably continued using as…well, a trash can.
You can imagine how that went.
I’ve been contacting Recology and working through the city channels trying to get this fixed. In the meantime, I went to Ace Hardware and bought the bright RED can you see today. Why red? Because I didn’t want anyone mistaking it for a permanent city replacement.
Our goal is to get one of the newer, sealed, pedal-operated public trash cans installed here. I’ve now heard back from our District Supervisor’s office, and they’re looking into whether this location qualifies.
So we have movement! Just no new trash can yet.
And yes, I’ve even offered to have Wishy Washy pay for the new can if that's what it takes to get this corner cleaned up properly.
Why?
Because this is our neighborhood too.
Wishy Washy may be in the business of clean laundry, but we’re also pretty big fans of clean sidewalks.
So if you’ve noticed the situation out front: we see it, we’re working on it, and we’re not giving up.
Stay tuned for the next episode of…
THE GREAT TRASH CAN SAGA
Hopefully the finale features one very beautiful, very sealed, very functional trash can.