Do you use the Solar Compactor (also known as BigBelly TM ?) There are a couple in downtown Santa Cruz and Capitola and one at UCSC.
What's a Solar Compactor? It is a self-contained trash barrel that also uses solar power to compact the trash contents when the weight reaches a pre-set number. (UCSC has it sent at 70 pounds.) The idea is to reduce frequency and labor needed to cart away trash, especially useful in busy areas.
One unit is near the Del Mar Theater; it has no special label, except "Pitch In." The solar panel is on the back, under a tree with no problem, but on a Sunday morning I found the the front trash bin full of trash, with red light flashing (meaning time for compacting).
A nearby downtown merchant said the nearby unit worked very, very well, but added it has been a target of vandalism.
UCSC has one, near the Bay Tree Bookstore. It compacts when the total weight is 70 pounds. UCSC paid for its unit, about $3-4k, with grants, and has had few maintenance problems.
Background:
- http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/gobbling-up-trash-with-suns-power/
- (Santa Cruz) http://wasteage.com/mag/waste_crunch_time_2/
- http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=636
Land Use and Transportation
When it comes to sustainability, the two - Land Use and Transportation - are very closely tied together.
Rick Longinotti has organized a working group through Transition Santa Cruz to study the issues related to land use, transportation, affordable housing and to study current legislation or initiate new legislation that will improve the sustainability of our neighborhoods.
Here are the details:
Sept 9 Agenda
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19473653/Agenda-Sept-9-Land-Use-Transportation-Transition-Santa-Cruz
Transition Santa Cruz
http://transitionsc.org/
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