Solar-Powered Trash Compactors Hit Main Street

Solar-powered trash compactors are coming to Main Street in town - in fact, they're already here. 

You might not have noticed, but there's already one of these solar-powered trash compactors, known as the BigBelly Solar Trash and Recycling Compaction System, set up on Main Street near the . It's been in place since last fall, in fact. 

And town officials said the town has purchased two more of these solar-powered trash compactors, with the plans of deploying them in the downtown area in the future. 

"It's not a formal pilot program, but we've had a number of people suggest that we try it," said General Manager Scott Shanley. "We didn't formally identify it as a pilot, but we did decide we would see how they work." 

Environmental Services Manager Brooks Parker told Patch that each of the solar-powered disposal units, which come attached to a traditional recycling receptacle, cost the town about $4,000. He said that although the cost may be significantly higher than a traditional trash barrel, the solar-powered compactors are better for the environment and have to be emptied less often, which should eventually lead to a savings for the town in labor costs. 

"There's significant upfront capital costs, but over the long run you do expect to reach a point where you do break even," Parker said. "There is pros and cons to both traditional barrels and these new ones." 

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These BigBelly cans take up as much space as an ordinary trash can, but the capacity is five times greater, according to company literature, making them ideal for high-traffic areas, such as downtown Manchester.

"The solar panel extracts energy from the sun and transfers the power to a battery for storage," according to Eco Green. "While onboard controls software takes fullness input from a photo eye and triggers compactions automatically. When the compactor reaches predetermined fullness levels that indicate a pick up is required, the the fullness and required pickup status is visible and trackable from any web-enabled computer and external LED indicators are triggered."

Parker said he does not know the planned location of the two additional BigBelly compactors that Manchester has purchased. 

"It's a very permanent installation, so the town wants to be secure in where we place these," Parker said. 

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