Short answer: yes, and you probably walk past them every day. If by “liner” you mean a disposable plastic bag, plenty of urban trash bins are designed to work without one. Public litter bins, large communal dumpsters, solar compactors, and many underground or semi-underground containers are usually emptied straight into collection trucks. There is no bag to swap out—the bin itself is the container.
Why can they skip liners? Good liner-free bins tend to have smooth, non-porous interiors, rounded corners, drainage, lockable lids, and sometimes removable inner buckets that crews can wash. Collection staff tip the contents directly into the truck, and some cities pressure-wash bins on a set schedule. Materials like galvanized steel or heavy-duty HDPE help them survive rough use and frequent cleaning.
That said, “no liner at all” works best for dry-ish street waste and large public containers. Food waste, very wet waste, and small indoor bins in cafés or offices often still use liners because they are quicker and more hygienic to service. Recycling bins may also go liner-free, but contamination and residue can be bigger issues.
The catch is maintenance. A bagless bin is not a maintenance-free bin. It needs regular washing, odor control, pest management, and a collection schedule that matches use. If a bin is rarely cleaned or emptied, residue and smell will build up fast. So the real answer is: yes, urban trash bins can be liner-free—but only when the bin design, collection workflow, and cleaning system are all matched. It is less about one magic bin and more about a well-run street-cleaning system.