Archive: Business & Technology

Reducing the solid waste stream, the cost of trash removal and the carbon footprint created by removing it, are the three goals of a demonstration project involving the installation and public use of a solar-powered trash compactor on the Ithaca Commons. The fully-functional trashcan-sized, solar-powered compactor will be located on the Commons near Center Ithaca at 171 The Commons for a period of one week. A public demonstration/media briefing was scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 13, 2009, in front of Center Ithaca.

On the outside, the solar-powered trash compactor/receptacle looks like a typical trash can that’s found in any urban area or city park. Inside the unit is a 32-gallon bin, a compactor, sensors, solar cells, and a battery, all connected to one another through integrated circuit technology. Once installed and operational, the trash compactor/receptacle can be used by the public just as any other trash container on the Commons can be used.

The compactor uses no electricity. The solar cells are installed on the top of the unit, and  charge a battery that powers the compactor and the sensors that determine when the 32-gallon bin is full, and its contents needs to be compacted. 

The solar-powered trash compactor is manufactured by BigBelly Solar of Needham, MA, and is being installed on the Commons through an agreement with BigBelly Solar’s upstate New York Distributor, Parkitects, Inc., of Lansing, NY.

According to the BigBelly Solar website , the typical BigBelly Solar trash compactor such as the one being installed on the Commons, has a capacity five times greater than a trash can of the same size, reducing the number of times it needs to be emptied, the cost of emptying it, and the carbon footprint created in the trash removal process.

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