The Greenburgh Town Board met with representatives of BIG BELLY, a company
that manufactures solar waste and recycling containers placed in streets around
the world. We will test the containers on E. Hartsdale Ave. and will also consider
placing the containers at some town parks. he discussion took place at the
beginning of the meeting (which is archived on our website: www.greenburghny.com).
_ PAUL FEINER
The future of garbage is greener, cleaner, smarter and cheaper to pick up.
And it’s here… There are 15,000 BigBelly Solar waste & recycling stations
deployed around the world, and they’ve already started to transform the
industry, keeping gas guzzling trucks off the street while cutting costs for
cash-starved communities. So what’s the catch? Really, there isn’t one. The
BigBelly system helps reduce our carbon emissions — and our vulnerability to
price shocks — and also helps keep cities cleaner, eliminating overflows that
attract rats and pigeons.
As part of a just-launched pilot at University of Washington, a number of the
existing outdoor garbage and recycling cans on Red Square have been replaced
with high-tech, automated kiosks that collect more types of materials.
“It’s changing the way we think about waste,” said UW Recycling & Solid
Waste Manager Emily Newcomer. “We expect the increased capacity and the
as-needed servicing to dramatically reduce our fuel use and disposal costs while using a sustainable energy source to create these efficiencies.”
To provide vital public solid waste collection services in the face of rising
costs, rising waste volumes and increasing budget pressures, a growing number of communities around the globe are taking an innovative, practical step to reduce the demand for waste collection trips, reaping both immediate and ongoing benefits of dramatic operating cost savings and substantial reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
NECEC recognized BigBelly Solar for its dramatic growth and substantial
global influence in increasing resource efficiencies and reducing environmental
impacts in the waste management industry.
BigBelly Solar launched its next-generation intelligent waste & recycling
collection system, the “Smart Grid for Waste & Recycling,” which features
new and expanded capabilities at each layer, delivering dramatic cost savings
while improving service levels.
The City of Chicago launched an initial business district deployment of 400
solar-powered trash compactors with wireless monitoring and companion recycling units, taking a major leap forward in transforming the way the City manages public litter collection and a new recycling program downtown.
2011
The BigBelly system in Philadelphia has been highlighted by the Climate
Leadership Group as a global best practice in the category of managing waste.
The citywide use of BigBelly Solar waste & recycling stations has resulted
in annual CO2 reduction, financial savings and increased residential recycling
rates.
The City of Allentown, PA turns to the BigBelly intelligent waste &
recycling collection system to save money, time and fuel. Introducing
public-space recycling for the first time, the City is deploying 250 waste &
recycling stations in high-traffic areas and parks around town.
Halifax’s waterfront has achieved an impressive 95% recycling rate for
containers. Last September, Halifax replaced 51 regular garbage containers on
the waterfront with 15 four-stream BigBelly Solar kiosks to handle discarded
drink containers, paper, organics and garbage.
“We are honored to have been selected by AlwaysOn as one of the game-changing companies driving the global greentech revolution,” said Barry Fougere, CEO of BigBelly Solar. “The innovative application of information technology and renewable energy to solve the world’s energy, environmental and financial problems is an exciting mission for our firm and the other winners.”
Washington, DC – Georgetown University’s Solid Waste and Recycling manager
has several important goals: to bring sustainability leadership to the
management of waste and recycling, to do so in a highly efficient and
cost-effective way, and keep to the historic campus looking constantly clean and green. An innovative solar-powered waste collection system is a unique
solution.
The City of El Paso began installing 73 BigBelly solar-powered trash
compactors in Downtown last week, replacing 40 percent of the green rod-iron
trash bins in the area. The city expects to save money by cutting collection
trips, reducing fuel costs and allowing the city to reallocate staffing
resources to other programs. A recent pilot program showed the collection
frequency using the solar powered trash compactors was reduced to twice a week, compared to 14 times a week for a conventional bin.
Recent News
Bath, United Kingdom – New solar powered bins have arrived in Bath to help
keep more litter off the streets. The 26 bins, which have been installed around
the city centre, have eight times the capacity than the average street
bin.
The BigBelly Solar intelligent waste & recycling collection system
combines a powerful management console, software-enabled network command center, and family of mix and match waste & recycling stations into a toolkit that enables municipalities, colleges & universities, government facilities and other institutional customers to reduce the operating costs associated with collection by 80 percent.
As part of a just-launched pilot at University of Washington, a number of the
existing outdoor garbage and recycling cans on Red Square have been replaced
with high-tech, automated kiosks that collect more types of materials.
“It’s changing the way we think about waste,” said UW Recycling & Solid
Waste Manager Emily Newcomer. “We expect the increased capacity and the
as-needed servicing to dramatically reduce our fuel use and disposal costs while using a sustainable energy source to create these efficiencies.”
On a recent trip to Bryce Canyon National Park, I noticed that all the trash
cans weren’t simply regular garbage cans, but solar powered trash compactor
cans. It’s such a simple idea that makes a whole lot of sense. I hope that I end
up seeing more of these, and other similar simple concepts that make sense, in other National Parks I visit.
Mayor Michael Nutter presents Carlton Williams, Deputy Commissioner of the
Philadelphia Streets Department, an award for going above and beyond daily
requirements. “He works with our block captains to keep our streets clean, he
implemented weekly recycling and installed those fantastic BigBelly
solar-powered trash cans all over the city,” Mayor Nutter said. “You know I love
those BigBellies.”
A system that combines solar-powered remote monitoring and on-site compaction is responsible for cleaner streets, less trash truck traffic and reduced emissions downtown, allowing Waste Management to collect the 25 BigBelly Solar waste stations about twice weekly instead of twice daily as before with the 50 trashcans they replaced. “If it’s a busy summer weekend…they’ll be emptied,” says Kristin Littlefield, City of Newport, RI’s Clean City Program Coordinator. “But on a Monday, they’ll be monitored instead of sending a truck right away.”
BigBelly waste & recycling stations are helping make the US Virgin
Islands cleaner and more efficient. Remote monitoring and on-site compaction
allow the stations to be collected less frequently, freeing up manpower and
resources. The stations have been approved by the appropriate Historic
Preservation Commissions.
Northern Kentucky University Dining Services is hosting a charity event on
April 9 in which participants will attempt to make it into the Guinness Book of
World Records. Proceeds will be going to NKU Green and will support sustainable initiatives on campus: “Specifically, to purchase BigBelly solar-powered waste and recycling stations for the campus,” said NKU Dining Services Marketing Director Janelle Craft.
