Street décor also includes practical and useful items such as garbage cans and recycling bins. Over the last 10 years, the Downtown Missoula Partnership has acquired and installed 85 garbage cans and 15 recycling containers in the public right of way to serve as collectors for garbage and recycling. The maintenance crew removes garbage and recycling from those cans every day.

Cans are typically located at or near street corners in a location that is easy to access and empty. Recycling containers are usually located adjacent to the garbage cans. As Downtown business and activities increase, so does garbage and recycling. Cans are placed in locations with high pedestrian traffic and areas where food and beverage produce increasing amounts of garbage. Street cans do not replace garbage dumpsters, but rather provide a clean and attractive receptacle for individual garbage and that is better suited to the public sidewalk space and design.