Solar powered garbage compacting cans from Big Belly Solar
When we went to the Greenbuild conference last fall, one of the coolest products I saw was a solar powered trash can. A trash can is a trash can, right? Why does it need solar power? The Big Belly Solar garbage can is a can that will compact its contents on a regular basis. And it does it with solar power, so it does not need to be plugged in to the grid. This makes it ideal for parks, bus stops, sidewalks, even the outside of stores and malls. Ever pass by a garbage can that was so full and overflowing that nothing else would go in, and to make matters worse, garbage is falling on the ground to be blown away bey the wind and dirty up the landscape. That is the perfect spot for a Big Belly Solar can. The other advantage is that compacting garbage means fewer pickups for cities and fewer emptying for retail. That is good news for both as emptying the cans is the hardest thing to get accomplished. It is also a big expense for cities and may be one reason why there are so few public garbage cans in this town. These compacting garbage cans can hold something like 5 times the amount of trash as conventional cans. When full they send a wireless signal that they need to be emptied, so no needless pick ups and that cuts down on the carbon footprint of retrieval. They have similar products for recyclables. While I wish we could get them both here in Cleveland, I would settle for a comprehensive curb side recycling program that doesn’t have a 6 year roll out.
Waste Management is going to install them in Houston to make their waste programs more efficient. Philadelphia is adding 500 of them to their city center. Fenway Park is adding them to cut down on pickups during games. The NSA is adding them to their facilites. Fairfax, VA is adding them to schools. We all need garbage cans, so why not them do the work of compacting and monitoring for us?
As the plastics break down into smaller pieces, they are eaten by fish and animals that usually feed on plankton. The biggest problem about all this pollution is that we do not know the long term effects of the damage. Just like we never knew about the damage of mercury to the fish population until it was too late, we may not realize the extent of the damage until the ecosystem of the world’s oceans are damaged beyond repair.
One of my readers sent me a link to this great site. It’s called 
I miss all the great produce that was once available to me. Tomatoes used to be full of flavor and oranges were juicy. Luckily, NE Ohio is laden with local Farmers Markets that will allow us to enjoy the wonderful fresh produce fresh from the farm. Buying local is the key to getting produce that is truly tasty. When your cucumber is being shipped from Chile, how fresh can it be? When your tomato is coming from southern California, how ripe could it have been when they picked it, if it had to travel a thousand miles? Here is a pretty complete list of the Farmers Markets in the Cleveland/Akron area. Buy local. Save the environment. Eat well!
