Instagram's founder was reportedly so obsessed with how the company's offices looked that he had employees' trash cans removed to avoid clutter

Jeff Chiu/AP

Instagram founder Kevin Systrom.

• Instagram founder Kevin Systrom once removed employees' trash cans from their desks because he hated how cluttered the company's offices looked.
• That's according to Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier's new book, "No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram."
• The book delves into Instagram's history and company culture, including a time in 2015 when Systrom, fed up with Instagram's less-than-aesthetically-pleasing office space, had wilted employee anniversary balloons cut down, desk clutter removed, and trash cans nixed altogether.
• Much has changed since then: Instagram now has gorgeous office spaces in places like New York and Menlo Park, California, and Systrom has left the company altogether.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Instagram founder Kevin Systrom has long been obsessed with visuals, and that obsession reportedly included the look of Instagram's offices - even down to the trash cans.

That's according to the new book "No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram" by Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier. Frier's book chronicles the early days of Instagram, its acquisition by Facebook, and the founders' eventual departure.

The book delves into Instagram's culture at the hands of then-CEO Systrom, and his frustration at the state of Instagram's offices at the time. The company had been acquired by Facebook in 2012, and Systrom's goal - and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's promise - was to keep the company as separate as possible under the Facebook umbrella.

But in 2015, Systrom was embarrassed by how the office looked worn, messy, and cluttered - that it didn't reflect the "craft, beauty, and simplicity" that the Instagram app was all about. Employee desks were disorganized, work anniversary balloons were wilting over employees' desks, and the individual-sized trash cans at each employee's desk were filled with trash.

Systrom had all of it removed, even going so far as to nix the trash cans altogether, according to Frier.

The incident reportedly sparked annoyance, hashtags, and constant jokes among employees, who thought Systrom's obsession with the look of the office was "a demonstration of peak preciousness," according to Frier, and a distraction from the actual work that needed to get done. Employees started bringing it up during company Q&As, came up with the hashtags "#trashcangate" and "#binghazi," and one employee dressed up as a trash can for Halloween, according to Frier.

A spokesperson for Instagram did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Much has changed at Instagram since the trash can incident of 2015. The company has opened beautiful, highly curated office spaces in places like New York, San Francisco, and Menlo Park, complete with living walls, gelato stands, and Instagrammable backdrops. And Kevin Systrom has stepped down as Instagram's CEO - he, along with cofounder Mike Krieger, left the company in 2018 after there were reportedly growing tensions with Zuckerberg. Since Systrom's departure, Adam Mosseri has stepped in to lead Instagram.

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