Boston, MA – Boston Mayor Thomas Menino recently sat down with Mass High Tech editor Douglas Banks and reporter Catherine Williams to discuss the city’s technology infrastructure and the innovation horizon for New England’s capital city. From the controversial Biosafety Lab in the South End to the citywide wi-fi project, the four-term mayor weighs in on Boston’s biggest technology challenges.

MHT: New England is one of the leading technology regions, and Boston is the flagship city of New England. Does that put an extra burden of responsibility on Boston to foster innovation?

MENINO: As the capital city, we have to be leading the way when it comes to technology. For a while we were not leading the way — but I think with our new chief information officer, Bill Oates, we’re starting to play catch-up. We’re leading the wi-fi piece that some people said we would never get. Last winter we used GPS technology in the snowplow trucks and were able to get more efficient delivery of the equipment to neighborhoods. Also we’re going to put in a CRM system so we have more response when people call our 24-hour service. Governments are about helping the people. Technology can help people get information…

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All year long I’ve looked at business products and strategies that expand the use of renewable energy, make more water available around the world, improve buildings with new designs and materials, recycle almost everything, and increase energy efficiency.

Now that green is part of my work life, I’ve created a green technology Christmas list in hopes of Santa bringing me some of this year’s most popular green products. There’s one caveat: Most of the gifts on my wish list are so hot that there’s little chance of them making it to my house by the 25th. On the other hand, imagine my childish glee as I celebrate one of those great seasonal traditions—unwrapping really cool toys I don’t really need.

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Jim Poss has a dirty little habit. The alternative-energy entrepreneur is fixated on trash–collecting it, that is. “The U.S. spends more than $45 billion a year to haul away garbage,” Poss explains. “That’s 180,000 diesel-burning trucks on our streets every day.” Plus, those trucks roll, spewing pollution in their wake, whether trash cans are full or empty. As Poss puts it, “I just knew there had to be a better way.” So he invented one: the solar-powered BigBelly Cordless Compaction System. Related Articles

More than 300 BigBelly units line streets from Massachusetts to California today, and their appeal is easy to see. Once BigBelly compactors have been installed, the stinky, overflowing trash cans found on urban corners are no more, replaced by what looks like a large newspaper-vending machine that collects rather than distributes. Because the unit can hold at least four times as much as a standard can, trash needs to be collected less often…

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