24 Inventive Trash Cans

Although a trash can is one of the least exciting fixtures in homes and cities, they're also one of the most important to ensure that surrounding environments are kept fresh and functional.

Since many homeowners could use a hand from technology when it comes to picking up and taking out the trash, some of the most novel innovations include designs that are autonomous, vacuum cleaner-like or equipped to compile new shopping lists based on the items that are thrown out.

On the streets, garbage bins are also getting a high-tech makeovers for the purposes of collecting consumer data, providing Wi-Fi and generating energy harvested from the sun. Low-tech innovations can be just as impactful in a community, as Copenhagen has proven with its special bins for shelves that proves with bins that preserve the dignity of bottle collectors on the street.