Vancouver, Canada - The Vancouver Courier:
Solar Trash Compactors Given Chance to Shine
August 13, 2008 10:15 PM
Vancouver, Canada - New compactor trash cans in Cambie Village are superior to similar models dumped by the parks board two years ago after a disappointing trial, says the city's deputy engineer.
Peter Judd said the new models keep the sidewalks tidy and are good for the environment.
"They're only emptied about once a week instead of every night like all the other garbage cans in the city," said Judd. "The advantages of that is the use of less labour and less greenhouse gases from garbage trucks."
The compactors are solar powered and don't consume energy from the grid, he said.
The 12 compactors recently installed in Cambie Village follow on the heels of a similar trial in Southeast False Creek, which saw the receptacles installed this past spring.
Judd said that, based on the results of a one-year trial, the city will decide whether to offer them to other neighbourhoods.
"We're hoping that when people understand what the savings are, both in labour and to the environment, they'll be willing to invest in them," he said.
Judd said that, during the trial, staff will monitor whether the cans are easily vandalized and how much maintenance they need.
"We have lot of questions, but we hope they'll get answered with the trials at Southeast False Creek and in Cambie Village," said Judd.
Paul Krueger, a planner with the city's rapid transit office, said the compactors are part of a revitalization project for Cambie Village. Other improvements include new street and pedestrian lights, traffic bulges, new street furniture such as benches, enhanced landscaping and the addition of more trees.
Cameron Johnson, manager of the TD Canada Trust branch at the corner of Cambie and West 18th Avenue, said one of the compactors is just outside the bank. He added that, so far, considerably less garbage is littering the sidewalk than with the traditional can it replaced.
"From the standpoint of the previous design," he said, "they overflowed and after the weekend they'd be full so people would place their trash beside the garbage cans on the sidewalk. This is a big improvement."
Johnson said an increased number of garbage containers in Cambie Village after the revitalization began also helped.