Politics & Government

Big Bellies: How They Work

The new solar trash compactors hold more than 40 pounds of trash.

The trash bins that line the northern side of Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill are simple. But the , have a more complicated mechanism behind them.

According to Jack Koehnlein of the Philadelphia Streets Department, the solar panels on the top of the compactors convert sunlight into direct current, that powers the compactor inside.

Also inside of the compactor is a signal that works through cellphone signals to alert waste management headquarters when the compactor reaches 40 pounds of trash.

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There are three lights on the top of the compactor that also signal when the compactor is nearly full. A green light means there is still plenty of room in the compactor, while a yellow one means that the compactor has reached 40 pounds, near capacity. When the light turns red, the compactor is completely full.

A different fleet of trash trucks are charged with emptying the Big Bellies, and only come when at least one of the cans is full, cutting own on the number of trips made to the area by trash trucks.

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"This eliminates air pollution caused by idling trucks, and traffic along Germantown Avenue," said Lee Meinicke of GRinCH,

Some of the traditional trash bins will remain along the stretch of Germantown Avenue where the compactors reside (between Mermaid Lane and ). However, the business owners are now charged with emptying them.


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