Greenburgh is following the lead of some other communities around the world and has purchased, thanks to a federal grant, two "BIG BELLY SOLAR POWERED TRASH COMPACTORS. The sanitation compactors will be placed on E Hartsdale Ave within the next two weeks. It's my hope that we will gradually purchase additional compactors.

Waste collection is an expensive and time-consuming business—and a necessity for public health and safety.

The compactors are “smart” trash receptacles: equipped with the “CLEAN” (Collection Logistics Efficiency And Notification) software solution, whereas each unit sends a wireless signal to a central server where staff can see which machines are full, so managers can optimize collection routes in real-time based on data from every machine in the field. The solution is simple on the surface, but is powered by patented and proven third generation technology. By using solar power to compact waste at the point of collection, each solar compactor can hold about five times the amount of waste as a typical receptacle, eliminating the need for four out of five collection trips system wide. Network monitoring software provides the information required to drive deep efficiencies in deployment and management of assets and crews. The result is up to an 80 percent reduction in collection vehicle trips that consume large quantities of time and fuel, and divert valuable staff time from other priorities. All while maintaining or improving service levels.

The City of Philadelphia (which purchased the compactors in recent years) had been making 17 trips each week to empty 700 wire baskets throughout Center City, at an annual cost of about $2.3 million. After replacing those 700 receptacles with 500 solarpowered compactors and 210 recycling units, the City collects only five times a week, and last summer reported savings of about $850,000 in the first year alone. Performing those 17 collections each week required 33 workers on three shifts, while performing the five collections per week under the new program requires only nine workers on a single shift. The other workers have been re-assigned to an expanded recycling collection program, providing further waste disposal savings for the City. Highlights of the program include:

• Philadelphia expects to save $13 million expected over ten years.

BigBelly solar compactors automatically compact trash to eliminate four out of five collection trips, reducing fuel use and emissions, while allowing the productive redeployment of labor to recycling and other critical services.

Paul Feiner