An MTA experiment to clean up subway stations and reduce the amount of rats has turned into a big mess, according to a new audit from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Trash cans began disappearing from some subway stations in 2011, part of an outside-the-box cleanup plan by the MTA.

"Oh man, it was a drag, man," said one subway rider. "I had to carry my garbage around wherever I went, for crying out loud."

That was the goal, as the MTA removed bins from 39 stations by 2014, mostly along the J, M and Z lines in Brooklyn and Queens.

"Last time I came, I carried my trash in my pocket and waited until I got outside," said one subway rider.

But a new report by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli trashes the test run, saying there's been an uptick in track fires and litter at stations without bins.

"When you run an experiment like this, it's supposed to improve riders' experience. You're supposed to see some kind of measurement that it's been better for the riders, that the stations are cleaner. I don't think we've seen that so far," said Matt Sweeney, a spokesperson for DiNapoli.

The MTA says the program has cut down on the rodent population and vastly reduced the number of trash bags collected from stations in the pilot program.

"Well, most riders are decent people, so when they don't see a garbage can, they take the garbage with them. So of course there's going to be fewer bags to collect," Sweeney said.

But the increase in track fires, which the MTA says is "very small," has led to the return of garbage cans at seven of the stations, but not on the platforms.

At the Fresh Pond Road station in Queens, the garbage cans were restored in August, but only to the station's mezzanine level. And riders NY1 spoke with said it hasn't made that much of a difference.

"People are still throwing their garbage all over. Because if they go upstairs with a cup of coffee, they're not going to walk back down the steps to throw it in the pail," said one subway rider.

At the Marcy Avenue station in Brooklyn, which remains trash can-free, riders say there's no escaping the subway slobs who litter on the tracks and platforms.

"It's just the fact that they took away the trash cans," said one subway rider. "I mean, where else are we supposed to put the trash?"

Try elsewhere. The MTA says it has no plans to put the trash cans back.