The short answer is: standard, heavy-duty wheeled carts designed specifically for automated side loaders—usually 95/96-gallon or 360-liter HDPE carts with a reinforced lift bar or grab pocket, rounded sides, a hinged lid, and smooth-rolling wheels. Those are the cans that tend to work best in cities because they match what the truck’s arm expects to grab, lift, and tip.
What matters most is compatibility, not just capacity. Automated side-loading trucks are built around a specific cart profile. If the can is too narrow, too wide, too tall, or has a weak lip, the arm may miss it, crush it, or spill the contents. Look for carts that are certified or listed by the truck manufacturer, or at least tested with the same arm model. A city should avoid decorative metal bins, odd-shaped containers, and lightweight residential bins with no lift point—they may look fine on the street but fail in daily service.
For urban use, I’d prioritize reinforced HDPE bodies, UV resistance, sealed or leak-resistant hinges, and wheels that roll well over curbs and cracked sidewalks. A hinged lid is important because side-loaders flip the cart upside down; a loose lid becomes litter fast. Also check the lift bar: it should be molded in or securely attached, not bolted on as an afterthought.
If you’re standardizing a city fleet, pick one or two compatible cart sizes, set a replacement policy, and run a pilot before buying thousands. The best urban trash can is the one that the truck can grab reliably every day—clean, sturdy, standardized, and easy for residents to wheel out.