Via Greening Austin Daily, I learned that the city has recently installed a new type of trash can called the BigBelly in the downtown area surrounding UT. As a KUT article on the subject notes, the BigBelly is actually a solar-powered trash compactor, which will help reduce the number of trash collections required in the area. Every time you toss something in, the compactor sets in motion, mashing trash flatter for more efficient pick-up.
In case you were wondering what these new trash bins looked like:
BigBelly solar-powered trash can (photo courtesy of KUT)
Pretty cool technology. Now all I want to know is: when will the recycling of paper, plastic and aluminum become mandatory for all Austinites?
