For a weekend-only farmers market in an urban setting, the best choice is not a fixed decorative park bin. It is a commercial-grade, mobile three-stream waste station: one lockable compartment each for trash, recycling, and compost (or trash and recycling if compost service is not available), sized around 95–130 gallons total and mounted on heavy-duty casters with brakes. This gives you the public capacity of a permanent bin, but you can roll it out Saturday morning, position it where the crowds are, and remove or secure it Sunday evening.
Look for UV-resistant HDPE or powder-coated steel, lockable swing lids, rain hoods, pest-resistant openings, smooth interiors, removable liners, and drain plugs. Foot pedals or large handles help, but clear color-coded labels with simple words and icons matter more than clever design. Weekend markets have short, intense waste peaks, volunteers who need fast sorting, and city rules about pests, litter, and public right-of-way. A mobile three-stream station handles all three.
Standard residential bins are too small and flimsy; open-top urban bins invite rain, pests, and overflow; solar compactors are expensive and overkill for a two-day event. If budget is tight, a pair of 65–95 gallon commercial wheeled carts with locking lids and clear “Trash” and “Recycling” labels is a practical fallback, but adding compost and a shared sign panel makes sorting much better.
Place stations at entrances, exits, and food-eating areas rather than scattering them everywhere. Line them with clear bags, check them hourly, and have a cleaning plan for grease and liquids. In short, the best urban trash bin for a weekend farmers market is a lockable, mobile, multi-stream commercial waste station that is easy to clean, hard for pests to enter, and simple for the public to use.