The latest controversy to sweep across the Disney theme park fandom is: trash cans. Solar trash cans, to be more specific. They are too difficult to understand how to operate, constantly broken, a waste of money, and the perfect encapsulation of Disney’s strategy of “if it ain’t broke, fix it”, if you believe social media. The pitch from Disney’s side is simple: they hold more trash, and they alert Cast Members when they’re full. This allows Cast Members to spend their time more efficiently, and even engage with guests more. To understand the latest drama, we should take a look back at how we got here. Also, stick around for a guide I thought I would never write: how to use a trash can at Disney World.
Solar Trash Can Controversy at Walt Disney World
It all started back in December 2024 when Disney piloted a single solar trash can in the Germany Pavilion at EPCOT. It would take some 18 months for Disney to begin to roll out the trash cans to more locations. It would also take 18 months for Disney fans to warm up their keyboards, ready to complain. During those 18 months, Disney collected feedback and data on the trash cans. Disney says that the pilot was successful and that feedback was positive. Of course, the fact that Disney is moving forward with installing the solar-powered trash cans throughout the four theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, and beyond is as much of an indicator of a successful pilot as a formal statement from Disney.
The rollout began at EPCOT, and then spread to Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. With more solar-powered trash cans in more places, guests were able to interact with them more. That has led to…opinions…on social media.
Now, I spend quite a bit of time in the theme parks, as you might imagine, and I have only seen a few people confused about how to operate the trash cans. Most of the time, guest figure it out. That said, if I were Disney, I would fit all of the trash cans with the handles seen on the test bins at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Here’s a comparison of the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure bins (left), with the standard mailbox-style design found throughout the theme parks (right). I don’t think the handle looks particularly good, but I do think it goes a long way in reducing confusion for guests.
Actually, before we get too much deeper into the article, we should really take a closer look at the trash cans themselves, including the benefits that are built in.
The trash cans appear to be BigBelly’s Smart Max units, a solar-powered compactor design. A solar panel on top charges an internal battery that powers an on-site compaction mechanism, allowing each unit to hold roughly five times the waste of a standard bin, about 150 gallons, before it needs to be emptied. The units are fully enclosed, keeping waste out of sight and contained, which BigBelly says helps prevent windblown litter and blocks pest access. A foot pedal allows for hands-free disposal in addition to the mailbox-style slot.
BigBelly markets the system around a handful of core benefits: fewer collections, lower labor costs, and reduced litter and pest activity. Some municipal customers have reported cutting collection frequency by as much as 80% after switching to the system. The compaction and containment design is also positioned as a cleanliness and aesthetic upgrade.
Each bin includes a door sensor that logs whenever it is opened, and a fullness sensor that feeds data into BigBelly’s cloud-based software platform. That system alerts Cast Members when a bin is approaching capacity. The specific fullness threshold is customizable depending on how quickly staff can respond. The platform is accessible through a web dashboard, a mobile app for Cast in the field, and automated email notifications, and it tracks metrics like collection efficiency and diversion rates over time.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how the new solar-powered trash cans at Walt Disney World work. Here’s our how-to guide for the new trash cans. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty easy.
How to Use the New Solar-Powered Trash Cans at Walt Disney World
The most prominent style of trash can at Walt Disney World is the “handleless” design seen in green above. Now, just because it’s handleless doesn’t mean you can’t open it with your hands. I’ve seen a lot of people assume that the foot pedal is the only way to open the trash cans, and that’s simply not true at all. In fact, the foot pedal is an additional way to open the trash can, with the mailbox-style slot being the primary way to open the bin.
As shown in the video, the mailbox-style slot has a recessed handle that makes it easy to open the trash can. The key difference between the legacy-style trash can and the new solar-powered trash cans is that the action changes from a push to a pull.
In addition to pulling the mailbox-style slot open with your hand, guests who are able can utilize the foot pedal. As shown in the video, pushing down on the foot pedal opens the chute for you to dispose of your trash, hands-free.
What Are Fans Complaining About?
The biggest, and most viral, complaint is that the bins appear to lock, preventing access to the bins. BlogMickey.com can confirm that while some BigBelly models do have a locking feature, all of the solar-powered trash cans at Walt Disney World do not lock. That means that the trash cans should be constantly accessible, and that they are safe to use while compacting. If you stumble upon a trash can that appears to be locked, the likely culprit is that the door is jammed by trash that a guest disposed of. Also, it’s very unlikely that you’ll come across a bin that doesn’t open. If you do, there is almost always going to be another bin that is nearby. Because the trash cans don’t lock, there is no widespread issue to be addressed.
That said, it is my understanding that Disney is aware of the possibility for bins to jam when large items are pushed in, and it’s something that they’re keeping an eye on. Additionally, the software is designed to notify Cast Members when a bin is jammed, allowing them to address the issue as soon as they are able to.
Other complaints that I’ve seen center around ease of use. For that, I can agree… to an extent. As I mentioned earlier, I think that the bins would benefit from a visible handle. If Disney doesn’t opt for a visible handle, I think signage such as a simple “pull” would go a long way to helping guests understand how to operate the new trash cans.
I’ve also seen questions of accessibility. While I can’t speak directly to accessibility issues myself, it’s worth noting again that there is no need to use the foot pedal to open the bin. The mailbox-style slot remains the primary way to open the bin, and that’s where the trash will be disposed of. That’s not to say that it addresses every accessibility issue, but the question of whether or not the foot pedal is the only way to open the bins is settled.
I’ve also seen some complaints about how Disney is solving a problem that doesn’t exist. I would push back on that, especially when it comes to EPCOT Festivals. Yes, the bins are being deployed everywhere, so zeroing in on EPCOT isn’t apples to apples for a bin in the corner of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but the benefit remains the same. That is, the bins hold more, alert Cast Members when they’re full, and are far more efficient. On paper, they are a solid upgrade, and they allow custodial Cast Members to attend to other parts of their jobs instead of roaming, looking for full bins.
The biggest issues right now would likely be solved by more obvious instructions on the bins themselves, and some learning from the guests. There is no reason to believe that Disney will pause or roll back the rollout. I think that we’ll see Disney make adjustments as more is learned about how guests interact with the new bins, but solar-powered trash cans are here to stay.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
The biggest reason I can stand them is they are ugly as hell and look like something you see on the side of the road.
Thanks for the review and opinions. One topic you didn’t dive into is aesthetics and specifically how Disney’s trash cans have become a familiar — you might say, iconic — park element. So there’s almost certainly an emotional aspect to seeing something that has (perhaps strangely) become beloved being replaced with an off-the-shelf item we are seeing elsewhere (e.g., NYC). That is a loss. Whether it’s worth it or not is debatable, but it is indeed something “classic Disney” that is going away.
But more so, arguably the old cans blended in better with more thematic environments. It was a non-obtrusive metal box capable of graphic decor, and it didn’t have the synthetic aspect of plastic these new cans do. So it hasn’t been hard for the old cans to fit in with a Fantasyland setting (they had metal in Medieval times), turn of the century Main Street, a circus, the frontier, 1920s New Orleans by Tiana’s, Adventureland…anywhere. They were astonishingly adaptable.
These new cans are not. They say “you are in a theme park” more than “you are in the American West, etc.” And I think people are sensing this change as a small, but not totally dismissible, disruption of immersion. As Disney keeps reminding us over and over (in their Imagineering marketing), details matter.
I’ve seen several clips on Instagram of people not being able to figure out how to use these trashcans. I’m reminded of a friend of mine who lives in the mountains where bears are common, and keeping bears out of trash cans is a never ending battle because of how smart the bears are. As my friend says, there is a significant overlap in the Venn diagram of bears who can figure out the trashcans, and the people who cannot.
Nottingham (a city in the UK) rolled out these bins about 10 years ago, and about 5 years ago they started removing them.
The reasoning was that they had become unsightly, they kept getting blocked and people didn’t want to touch the handles so left their rubbish either on top or at the side of the bin.
I have no doubt that Disney will keep this bins clean and relatively nice looking, and that they will try and keep blocked bins to a minimum, but I can understand people not wanting to touch the handles.
Now I should say the BigBelly bins deployed in Nottingham had external handles but did not have a foot pedal, you had to use the handle, in my opinion having the pedal makes these more usable for this reason – lots of people (not all) go to bins with trash that ultimately has something that gets on their hand, sauce, grease, the remains of a Mickey ice cream bar that have dripped all over a their small child’s hand and loads of paper napkins used to clean them up, you get the idea. And no matter how careful people are some of this is going to transfer onto the handle of the bin. With the handless bins Disney have deployed you can’t see what is under that handle, I wonder how often people will open a bin and suddenly feel the transfer of some residue onto their hands?. With the legacy bin’s you could just push the rubbish in without touching the bin, 1 step. New bins require opening the bin, pushing in your rubbish, closing the bin, 3 steps. It is hardly a chore, but it requires people to do more, and some struggle with putting rubbish in a bin at all.
I guess time will tell if well if these are successful at Disney.