Short answer: yes, but they are still more pilot project than everyday street furniture. The clearest examples are smart public bins with fill-level sensors, secure latches, RFID tags, and a standardized shape. They can tell collection software when they are full and can be unlocked, lifted, or tipped by a robotic arm on an autonomous truck. Some new districts also use automated vacuum systems, where bins feed into underground pipes and waste is pulled to a central station, so no robot arm is needed at the curb.
That said, a random sidewalk trash can in most cities is not designed for robotic emptying. Public bins face weather, vandalism, irregular placement, and mixed waste. Robots need predictable interfaces: reliable latches, lifting points, stable weight, clear location data, and safety sensors. Retrofitting old bins is often harder than replacing them.
Where it makes sense, you see it first in campuses, airports, business parks, hospitals, and new residential districts—controlled environments with uniform bins and good connectivity. Cities are also testing autonomous collection vehicles and robotic arms on conventional bins, but human crews still handle exceptions, overflow, and illegal dumping. So yes, robot-ready urban trash cans exist and pilots are real, but robotic collection is not yet the default for city streets. The bins are getting ready; the robot ecosystem is still catching up.