The City’s waste hauler on Friday installed two side-by-side state-of-the-art trash and recycling solar compactors in the Civic Center parking lot as part of a pilot program to benefit the environment.
Waste Management of Orange County is conducting the program that will test the innovative eco-technology’s ability to harness the sun to reduce trash collection frequency in public places. The compactor units use power from built-in solar panels to compact trash and recyclables, which enables the receptacle to hold up to five times the capacity of a traditional trash receptacle.
The technology may cut the need for trash pickups by as much as 80 percent, which reduces collection costs, fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Waste Management provided the solar compactors to the City at no cost.
