Bigbelly Blog: Beyond the Bin

This is a republication from Bigbelly International Distribution Partner, Solar Bins Australia. Find the original here.

BIGBELLY SOLAR COMPACTING BINS ARE A HIT AT SYDNEY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Bigbelly is a solar-powered waste compactor that is revolutionising waste management worldwide. Once the rubbish inside a Bigbelly reaches a certain level, sensors inside trigger a compaction. This means that by the time the station is full, the total volume captured is 5 times more than that of a 120L wheelie bin! The Bigbelly even lets you know it is ready for collection via form of a text message or email, meaning collections only need to be made when a waste station is full. How’s that for intelligent waste?

Congrats to Village Supermarkets and ShopRite for deploying a smarter way to manage front-of-house waste and recycling operations! In honor of Earth Day 2017, this retailer took the time to showcase their commitment to sustainability while increasing productivity. Read on for great local coverage from Greater Morristown, New Jersey as published on USA Today: 

As we look back at 2016 and ahead into 2017, we reflect on and are inspired by our customer successes. We are excited to unveil the Top 25 Most Efficient College and University Deployments Using the Bigbelly Smart Waste & Recycling System.  

Congratulations to each and every one of these college and universities, their student body, staff, and faculty! These higher education instutions are power users of their smart waste system and are taking full advantage of data-driven waste management across campus!

1. University of Alberta (AB, Canada) - 91% Average Efficiency for 2016!

2. University of California – Berkeley (CA, United States)

3. University of California – San Diego (CA, United States)

4. University of Illinois at Chicago (IL, United States)

5. University of North Texas (TX, United States)

As we look back at 2016 and ahead into 2017, we reflect on and are inspired by our customer successes. We are excited to unveil the Top 25 Most Efficient Smart City Deployments Using the Bigbelly Smart Waste & Recycling System.  Congratulations to each and every one of these cities, towns, parks and transit systems, business improvement districts, other public spaces for constituent enjoyment and their impacted communities! These cities and entites within are power users of their smart waste system and are taking full advantage of data-driven waste management across city limits.

1. Thayer Street District Management Authority, RI (United States) - 99% Average Efficiency for 2016!

2. Cheshire West and Chester Council, England (United Kingdom) 

3. Brighton and Hove Council, England (United Kingdom)

4. DunLaoghaire Rathdown Council, Dublin (Ireland)

5. Gravesham Borough Council, England (United Kingdom)

Livability describes the diverse aspects of society, surroundings, and shared experiences that shape a community. It focuses on the human experience and is specific to place and time. It includes economic, spatial, and social components that together are challenging to understand and measure in our defined world of planning and development of today's communities for tomorrow. As such, it is best defined by the state, region, or community, and is best measured at a scale where consensus can be found.

As the world around us evolves due to changing economies, governments, natural resources, and the environment, municipalities may face strains on assets and resources. Cities and towns are proactively building strategies to limit the impact of acute shock and chronic stress that threaten them or weaken their foundation on a day-to-day or cyclical basis. Sudden, sharp events like disease outbreaks, national and international political and economic disruptions, terrorist accounts, and extreme weather and natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods are hard to deal with without proper pre-planning and disaster recovery plans in place. Stresses like inefficient public transportation systems; high unemployment; endemic violence; and power, food, and water shortages or interruptions also pose challenges for municipalities.

We have all been there at some point…stuck in our car behind a garbage truck as it makes frequent stops to collect waste and recycling. We see and smell the dark plumes of exhaust released from these loud, diesel-powered trucks. We might even wonder if there is a more environmentally friendly way to collect garbage.

Each year city leaders take on the task of balancing budgets while keeping a close eye on core city services. If there’s a deficit, one line item that might face reduced support is recycling-related efforts and programs. While they do require budget dollars to maintain, these recycling efforts also promise to save a city money (and environmental impact) in the end.

Recycling costs vary from one city to the next depending upon proximity to landfills, labor cost, real estate prices, and method of recycling. Despite varying financial benefits, there are many positive reasons both economically and environmentally to recycle. 

When it comes to recyclable materials - aluminum, glass, plastic, and paper - some recycle more easily than others and their life spans are extraordinarily long. In all cases, recycling of these materials results in energy and natural resource savings.

The world is an ever evolving ecosystem. In some instances, change advances cities and towns, economies, governments, lives, natural resources, and the environment, while occasionally change drains these stakeholders, assets, and resources. Around the globe, municipalities are exploring strategies for developing greater capacities for urban resilience to future impacts – climate change, high unemployment, energy scarcity, political and economic disruption, overtaxed public services & resources, etc.

Resilient Cities are those that aggressively and proactively plan and design strategies that will help them develop the necessary capacity to meet tomorrow’s challenges, including shocks and stresses to their infrastructure systems. Cities are looking at ways to become more self-sufficient and energy efficient. Central to effective urban planning is the ability to facilitate the development of greater capacity for future proofing.