After testing, Walt Disney World has been rolling out new solar-powered trash and recycling bins since early June. The new garbage cans are now available at select locations in EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But with their new design, some guests are getting confused.

Trash Can Confusion

The solar panels on top of each bin power built-in trash compactors. This feature isn’t what’s causing problems, however.

To open the cans, guests can use the foot pedal on the bottom or pull the flap by the upper lip. For guests used to push flaps, this operation isn’t immediately intuitive.

We noticed at Disney’s Animal Kingdom that one guest had opted to stuff their sandwich bag with partially-eaten sandwich into the handle of the bin instead. This handle is how Cast Members open the bins to be emptied.

The sandwich isn’t the only sign of struggle we’ve seen. As we said in our first post about the new bins, we’ve spotted many guests having trouble with them.

Disney Tourist Blog responded to our X post about the Animal Kingdom trash can with a famous quote from a Yosemite Park ranger about designing bear-proof garbage cans: “There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists.”

The trash cans at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom do have large metal handles on the flaps that make opening them by pulling more obvious. But the cans at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom don’t have these handles.

The cans also raise questions about accessibility. The foot pedal is great for hygiene and preventing the spread of disease, but many wheelchair users aren’t able to use it. And the trash cans are taller, meaning the flap is higher and could be difficult for some wheelchair users to pull.

Beyond wheelchair users, other guests with mobility issues may not be able to lift their foot to press the pedal or grip the flap/handle.

Kids might also have trouble using the foot pedal and reaching the flap.

And on a less serious note — the tops of the cans are fully rounded instead of flat. How are we supposed to use them as tables for our festival food?

Disney confirmed the solar trash cans are coming to all four Walt Disney World theme parks, as well as Disney Springs, water parks, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and other locations throughout the year.

What do you think of the new Walt Disney World trash cans? Let us know on social media.

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