(Credit:
BigBelly Solar)
Who knew America's mayors were so interested in trash?
Garbage removal heavyweight Waste Management announced this week at the U.S. Conference of Mayors that it will distribute BigBelly Solar's solar-powered trash compactor in North America.
Waste Management expects to sell them to municipal governments and other organizations responsible for garbage at public places, such as sports venues. Fifteen of the BigBelly Solar units are installed at a retail center adjacent to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., home of the New England Patriots. Numerous cities and towns in the U.S. have also purchased them.
The BigBelly Solar compactors look like a typical street-side trash can except they are outfitted with solar panels on the top. The solar panel powers a motor that crushes the trash, which means that pick-ups can be done less often. The newest versions of the compactors are now network-equipped to send a signal when they are full.
The compactors themselves are made from recycled materials and work in areas that don't receive direct sunlight, said Richard Kennelly, vice president of marketing for BigBelly Solar, in a statement.
The exclusive distribution deal with Waste Management is a big win for Needham, Mass.-based BigBelly Solar which was started a few years ago and quickly found receptive customers in city mayors in Boston, Philadelphia, and other places.
The company raised an additional $3.2 million from undisclosed investors, according to an SEC filing made public last month.
It was only a question of time. BigBelly Solar has expanded its product line with a solar-powered compactor for recyclables.
The Needham, Mass.-based company first started selling trash cans with a small 30-watt solar panel on the top that powers a compactor a couple of years ago.
Solar-powered recycling and trash bins from BigBelly Solar.
(Credit: BigBelly Solar)Municipalities have been buying them to cut down on the number of trips that garbage handlers need to make. That cuts down on fuel costs (garbage trucks get about 2.5 mpg) and reduces street congestion and pollution.
There's also the "green PR" when people see the solar panel on the top of a trash can.
Now the company has developed a compactor for recycled goods. It comes in a few configurations, but the recycling units (for paper or bottles and cans) have their own panels and are placed next to solar trash cans.
The product design is meant to be green all the way through by using recycled plastic and nontoxic paint.
Ultimately, BigBelly plans on equipping its units with communications capabilities so that they can tell garbage collectors when they are full or broken.
But for now, cities and towns just need to hope consumers know how to sort their trash.
The BigBelly solar-powered trash can has gotten a makeover.
The latest version of the BigBelly Solar garbage compactor will fit in better on city streets, all while flaunting its green credentials. Future versions will even have the ability to phone home.
(Credit:
BigBelly Solar)
The BigBelly uses a 30-watt solar panel on its top to charge a battery that powers a motor to crush garbage.
By compacting trash, city workers need to make fewer trips to empty bins, which reduces congestion and diesel exhaust, according to the company.
The company claims that compacting can eliminate four out of five trips. The savings from less frequent disposals can cover the up-front cost of about $4,000 within a couple of years.
The company has sold about 1,000 units based on its environmental attributes and has generated scads of press with mayors of cities and towns talking up the trash compactors' ecofeatures.
BigBellys are operating in Boston; Queens, New York; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Ventura, Calif., as well as at different universities. Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., has a prominently displayed solar trash can.
The first incarnation of the BigBelly was big and boxy. It looked more like a book deposit box. The look of current edition, first released last fall, is 25 percent smaller, without sacrificing any of the compacting power, according to Bruce Todtfeld, vice president of marketing and product management at BigBelly Solar, which is based in Needham, Mass.
They've also incorporated recycled plastics on the hopper that people pull down before dumping in their trash.
To better protect their solar panels, the company has used hard ABS plastic as a cover, Todtfeld said.
(Credit:
BigBelly Solar)
"Not that we want to encourage anyone to do this, but you can take a baseball bat and smash it over the top," he said. "It's the same material they use on hockey rinks."
Todtfeld said the company is looking at adding more intelligence to the BigBelly. In the next few months, it plans to start testing a version with remote communications ability.
"It will provide customers more information about the collection system and make it more efficient," he said.
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