A solar energy panel on top of a garbage can faces the southern sky Tuesday alongside the playing field at Beaver Pond in Franklin. The machine uses solar power to compact the garbage, so town workers don't have to empty the container as often.
Just in time for the town's Earth Day celebration April 19, the public works department has installed two $4,000 solar-powered trash compactors on Main Street and at the Beaver Pond recreation complex.
The "BigBelly" cordless trash compactors can hold up to 200 gallons of garbage - up to six times the typical load, said Denise Zambrowski, Environmental Affairs Coordinator for the Department of Public Works.
"It's really a neat invention. Using solar energy, it will help us maintain a neat (town), just controlling litter and trash in our parks, in our ball fields.
"It's a really interesting invention to help us deal with solid waste management in public places," said Zambrowski, who first learned about BigBelly at an energy efficiency workshop.
The solar-powered trash compactor resembles a mailbox, with a side "door" vs. an open top, in which trash is deposited, which prevents animals from getting inside, she said.
As the garbage rises to a certain height, a mechanized arm compacts the trash and resets, Zambrowski said. Once the trash reaches a set level of compaction, a red indicator light shows the barrel is full and locks the door shut, preventing overflow, she said. The indicator light also turns yellow to warn the barrel is reaching capacity.
Solar energy provides the energy needed to operate the battery that powers the compaction system, Zambrowski said.
A solar panel atop the receptacle charges the battery, which should last about 20 years, she said.
"They're very neat looking - clean and bright and big," said Susan Speers, of the Metacomet Land Trust.
After considering areas in town with high pedestrian traffic and trash collections, Zambrowski and others at the DPW installed the BigBellies in front of Benjamin Franklin Bank on Main Street and at the Beaver Pond recreation area, said Zambrowski.
"The whole point of getting them is to reduce the amount of collection rounds we do, particularly at the Beaver Street recreation complex," she said.
"A lot of residents go down and use it for the beach in the summer, and the field is constantly in use,' she said.
In the summer, which is the busiest time of year for trash collection at the complex, the DPW empties the barrels about every other day, Zambrowski said. Using the solar powered compactors should reduce collections to once a week, she said.
At the Main Street location, the BigBelly is expected to reduce trash pickups from three times a week to once every 10 days, Zambrowski said.
"We're seeing the feasibility of having these around town and how well they will help us reduce our manpower in collection," she said.
Funding for the $4,000 barrels came from Franklin residents who donated $5 to $12 on their electric bills over several years, and a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, which matched the contributions, Zambrowski said.
By comparison, a standard decorated public trash barrel costs a few hundred dollars, she said.
The BigBellies will also save on manpower and fuel costs, Zambrowski said, but she could not give an estimate of how much.
BigBellies have also been installed in Boston, Attleboro, and at Walden Pond in Concord, Zambrowski said.
Joyce Kelly can be reached at 508-634-7582 or jkelly@cnc.com. This story and more about Franklin can be found at
Source: www.milforddailynews.com
