In most communities, demonstrated commitment to sustainability is not limited to a singular Earth Day but rather is engrained in the fiber of the city, county, or campus – consider it Earth Day Every Day. There are programs, ordinances, and missions designed to reduce, reuse, and recycle; to efficiently capture and collect trash; all while diverting as much waste as possible from landfills as a pledge to improve the lives of constituents and the environment for generations to come.
Bigbelly is proud to empower cities and campuses to deliver waste management services in a smarter, data-driven, sustainable manner. In 2017, our world leading system contained 127,150,455 gallons (481,316,830 liters) of waste, recycling, and compost.
Half of all connected Bigbelly deployments feature multiple waste streams – on a mission to highlight Earth Day Every Day by introducing public space recycling, increasing its availability in public areas, educating on proper disposal, decreasing contamination, and measuring its success. These systems cumulatively diverted 21,416,674 gallons (81,070,930 liters) of recycling and compost waste from entering landfills in 2017.
We celebrate Earth Day Every Day by recognizing our customers who are making a difference in sustainability and environmental protection through their use of Bigbelly’s smart waste management solution. Discover more in our recently unveiled second annual Top 25 Highest Diversion Ratio lists for Smart City and Smart Campus Deployments:
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Half of all connected Bigbelly deployments include recycling, including some of the most marquee streetscapes and locations around the world. In 2017, the Alliance for Downtown New York reached a significant milestone of collecting 1,000 tons of glass, plastic, metal and paper in lower Manhattan. That’s the equivalent of 333 elephants, 74 NYC buses or $37B worth of gold!
- All Bigbelly systems cumulatively captured and diverted 23% more recycling and compost – nearly 4 million more gallons – year over year (2017 over 2016).
- Burlington, Vermont holds the #1 spot (municipalities) diverting 63% of waste from landfills, while the University of California – San Francisco sits atop the university leader board having diverted an impressive 72% of waste. Seven of the University of California and Cal State System campuses hold spots in the list, no surprise with their sustained commitment to zero waste such as at UC Berkeley with their recent Chou Hall!
- Special recognition goes to Bridgeport, Connecticut, which experienced the highest increase in average diversion. Their overall ratio propelled them 14 spots in the Top 25 rankings to break into this year’s Top 10.
- Four new colleges and universities hit the ranks, including Seattle Central College, which entered the Top 10. Eight new cities made the overall list for the first time this year, including: Wyndham, Australia and Prince Georges County, Maryland ranking in the Top 10.
- Five international cities made the list: Wyndham, Australia making the list for the first time and joining Surrey, Canada in the Top 10 ranking. Waverly Council (Australia), and Montreal and Kenora (Canada) all appear on the Top 25 list.
- A commitment to Earth Day Every Day: Check out last year’s ranking for Top 25 Smart City Deployments and Top 25 Smart Campus Deployments with Highest Diversion Ratios.
We proudly promote our customers’ focus on beautifying public spaces, enhancing their spaces to accommodate a sustainable recycling program in public spaces, cleaning up their areas for the community to enjoy, and preserving and protecting natural resources with smarter decision making. Congratulations to all Bigbelly customers improving waste management with greater efficiency and effectiveness!