The city of San Diego moved to phase-out the old black trash bins in November of 2025, to be replaced with the new grey trash bins. Fast forward to January of 2026, and many neighbors across the city are still in possession of their old black trash bins.
The city told NBC 7 that “special city crews,” according to city spokesperson José Ysea, would be sent out on Saturday, January 10, to collect the old trash bins, following complaints from neighbors.
NBC 7 returned to 38th Street and Thorn Street on Sunday to see how many bins remained. The street was lined with more than a dozen black trash bins placed out on the street. Some of the bins were empty, others had trash placed inside. The city had asked people to keep the bins empty if they were to be collected.
One neighbor, who did not wish to speak on camera, told NBC 7 that they felt the process of how the bins would be collected was not properly communicated. They were in possession of both a black and new grey trash bin. They kept their empty black trash can out on the street, and had been waiting for it to be collected…