Waste Expo Part II: Waste Management Intros Solar Compactors to Crush Collection Costs

I came upon an interesting contraption on the exhibit floor at Waste Expo this week: a solar-powered trash compactor. It’s the brainchild of Needham, Mass.-based Big Belly Solar and uses a 30-watt solar panel that charges a battery that in turn compacts trash as it accumulates inside the bin. Waste Management recently partnered with Big Belly to distribute the bins in the places it operates in North America, and they are already being used by many schools, parks departments and zoos around the country—in fact Philadelphia is installing 500 of the compactors on its streets as part of its Greenworks project.

The bin contains an electronic eye that spans the top of the 32-gallon barrel inside the unit. Once enough material accumulates to block the beam, it triggers the compactor to engage, using 1250 pounds of force to ram the trash into the barrel. In total, the barrel can hold roughly 150 gallons of compacted waste. Also, the unit contains a small display that shows when the barrel is nearly full and when it is completely full. A wireless link to the municipality allows dispatchers to send trucks to the cans only when they are full. … – CLICK HERE to Continue Reading and Comment

Source: http://www.TriplePundit.com: Waste Expo Part II: Waste Management Intros Solar Compactors to Crush Collection Costs