Bring on the BigBelly’s

On June 1st I read and article on ubergizmo titled “big bellies love the sun”.  The article discusses a solar powered compacting trash can capable of alerting personnel when it is full.  As it turns out I saw one of these units in a local park the day before reading the article.

The trash compacting bins can hold 8 times the waste of an average waste can and are powered entirely by solar energy.  An article in philly.com mentions another pretty cool feature of the bins:

As the bins fill, a sensor will shift from green to yellow to red, and the BigBelly’s wireless device will phone Streets Department headquarters with the news.

I pictured ET phoning home as I read that part.  This is a great feature given the personnel responsible act when the alert is received.

Prior to posting this I read a total of four articles on the BigBelly’s and at least two had several comments challenging the projected savings and the city’s choice in purchasing such devices.  Having seen more than my share of parks with over flowing trash cans I personally welcome such purchases.  While the short term investment is more than the typical trash can the savings in bettering our parks would seem ample ROI in and of itself.  Beyond the aesthetics of a clean park the staff time previously used to empty the bins more frequently can be allocated to other neglected tasks.

As I visit more local parks in the coming months for geocaching I hope to see more and more of these BigBelly’s making an appearance.