Okay, this might be the pettiest thing I’ve ever posted, but the new Bigbelly solar cans on 86th between Lex and Park have a metal pull-flap that everyone has to grab, and I’m losing it. The promotional stuff said these were supposed to be “touchless compacting” or whatever, but there’s no foot bar?! I watched a woman try to hip-check the flap open and it just bounced shut. A delivery guy came by with a full pizza box and ended up balancing it on top of the can because he didn’t want to touch the handle after handling money. Now there’s a little pizza-box shrine. The old green corner baskets had that foot pedal, so why does the “upgraded” can require more bare-hand contact? Did our block just get a broken one, or did the BID spend extra on a solar panel and forget the part that actually matters? Has anyone seen a Bigbelly with a pedal, or are they all this stupid?

I've got one on my corner in East Harlem and yeah, no pedal. I just use the edge of my old MetroCard to pop the flap. If it’s really sticky, I use the bottom of a bottle. They probably took the pedal out because people would wreck it stepping on it with a full bag. Still, whoever decided to put a mirror-shiny metal pull-bar on a public trash can never watched anyone walk a dog. I think they’re “touchless” in the sales pitch only. The old green ones were better because you could throw a bag in from a foot away.

Wait, I thought the metal flap was for recycling only? I just moved to Astoria and I’ve been holding my trash until I find a regular can because I wasn’t sure. That might explain the pile next to the one near the 30th Ave stop. Is there a trick to opening it with your foot? I tried kicking it gently and nearly ate pavement. Also, do you call 311 when the light is blinking red? It’s been like that for a week and I never know if it’s full or broken.

They’re general trash, not recycling-dedicated. The red blinking light usually means it’s full or the compactor is jammed. You can report it on 311 as a missed collection / broken basket, but half the time they close it without actually fixing the flap. I keep a little hand sanitizer hooked to my bag and just pull it with one finger, then sanitize. The real move is to walk an extra block to a corner that still has one of the old green baskets with the foot pedal. At least those actually open.