Big Belly Bin!

Trash cans are placed everywhere to keep our streets, parks, beaches, and other public locations clean. The trash cans that are public are circular with no lid, which causes trash to over pile and fall to the ground. This is a big issue because the trash that falls just ends up everywhere on the ground creating a bigger mess. It also attracts animals and insects making it an unpleasant area to be around. Not that we want to be around trash cans but it affects the parks, beaches, and other outdoor areas. 

There is a company called Big Belly Solar that came up with a solution. In 2003 they created a trash bin that has a trash compactor. The Big Belly Bin can take 5 times the capacity of a regular trash can because of the compactor inside. It has a sensor beam that lets it know it is time to compress the trash to fit more. When it is full it sends a sensor indicating that it needs to be emptied out.

The design does not take up space because it is about the same size as a regular trash can. Its material is made out rubber and is solar powered making it a bit more eco-friendly.  The purpose of this product is to save time and fuel keeping the garbage trucks out of the city. That way trucks lower the consumption of fossil fuel and contribute to reduce the pollution in the cities. It also was designed to keep our streets and parks clean. There are only a few places that have them for instance Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and some parts of California such as Ventura and Oakland.  I have seen two in Los Angeles, CA mainly in downtown LA. This idea is great and works, it is helping our environment and we just need to do our part and use it.