Green Living

The city of Pasadena is going greener with a purpose. While it is my personal belief that many cities fly under the “guise of green” as a way to market to prospective real estate buyers and business owners, Pasadena certainly is not.  Coincidentally nicknamed the Green City, it is among a handful of cities in the nation (New York, Philadelphia and Boston included) that have installed BigBelly Solar Trash Compactors. On October 5, 2009, Pasadena’s City Council approved the purchase of 40 additional BigBelly’s at the price of $146,550, or $3,470 each. The 540-pound rubbish bins are said to be able to reduce collection trips from five times a week to once per week, helping the city not only save $61,400 – an 80 percent reduction in expenses in labor and fuel usage annually, but also curb greenhouse gas emissions and dramatically minimize what gets dumped in our landfills.

The attempt to replace public trash receptacles with energy-efficient solar ones comes as a result from Pasadena Public Works Director Martin Pastucha, along with an environmental team who helped jumpstart the six-month pilot project in 2007.  Following that success in spring 2009, Pasadena purchased its current dozen bins.

According to the City Council’s Agenda Report, “The compactor takes up as much space as an ordinary bin, but has a capacity five times greater than that of a normal trash bin.” BigBelly can also compact up to 200 gallons of trash into 40-60 pounds. And what if there’s no sun for weeks? Amazingly, BigBelly has “a battery reserve that lasts two to three weeks without sunlight.” According to their website, it can run for a day on the amount of energy it takes to make toast. And what if it gets full faster than normal? BigBelly has a sensor that signals the city’s trash peeps whenever collection is required.

Among the 40 new locations planned, are City Hall and the intersection of South Lake Avenue and East California Blvd, as noted by The Los Angeles Times.

Guest Post and images by Sarah of  Words by Sarah McClure

Images also courtesy of Big Belly Solar

Tags: BigBelly Solar Compactor, City, environmental technology, greenhouse gas emissions, Pasadena, solar, trash