In city centers it's usually counter-terrorism: it's easy to throw a timed bomb in a metal garbage can and flee the scene, so they got rid of them (London did because of IRA, and of course now they have Islamic terrorism). Outside of city centers it's about (lack of) recycling: it's easier to check if you're recycling correctly in your home bin than public bins.

▲

lesuorac 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Why would you throw a bomb into a garbage can? Who loiters next to one?

100% just drop it behind you as you exit the tram. Way better metal container for blasting.

"Counter-terrorism" just means nobody thought about it more than 2 seconds or else they'd have a more specific reason.

	▲	curtisblaine 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It was pretty common with the IRA, apparently. They hid bombs in metal garbage cans and used the shrapnel as a damage multiplier. I think they did that at a commercial center and killed several people. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23695239

▲

quickthrowman an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Explosion resistant trash receptacles do exist but they’re pricey so it makes sense London didn’t replace theirs. The most common place to see them is in airports.