BigBelly Solar has expanded its product line with a solar-powered compactor for recyclables. Municipalities have been buying them to cut down on the number of trips that garbage handlers need to make. That cuts down on fuel costs (garbage trucks get about 2.5 mpg) and reduces street congestion and pollution. There's also the "green PR" when people see the solar panel on the top of a trash can. Now the company has developed a compactor for recycled goods. It comes in a few configurations, but the recycling units (for paper or bottles and cans) have their own panels and are placed next to solar trashcans.

The product design is meant to be green all the way through by using recycled plastic and nontoxic paint. Ultimately, BigBelly plans to equip its units with communications capabilities so that they can tell garbage collectors when they are full or broken.

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