Syracuse, NY - NewsChannel 9 WSYR:
Syracuse University Installs Solar-Powered Trash Compactor
October 13, 2008 08:52 PM
Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - Syracuse University has an interesting new addition which the college expects to make one busy section of campus cleaner and greener.
Next time you head up for a game, look for it between Sims and Slocum Halls, right behind the main bus stop and on the way to the Dome.
It is a solar-powered trash compactor -- and yes, there's more than enough sun to run it.
"There's a sensor inside when it gets to a certain level then it will compact; there's no electricity involved whatsoever – when we emptied it, it was two weeks before we had to empty it [again]," says SU Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Lloyd.
There's still about a half dozen regular trash cans on campus between Sims and Slocum, but what you can fit in five of those old trash cans can be placed within one compactor – with room to spare.
"If you figure in transportation costs, and you figure in labor costs -- the reduction of how many times it has to be emptied and all that -- it will pay for itself within a year," says Lloyd.
During a regular stretch, with no Dome event, crews normally have to empty the old trash cans every three days. The BigBelly took two weeks before it needed to be emptied.
"It's a great thing -- it reduces a lot of garbage, a lot of waste, hopefully we'll see more of them around campus," says SU student Brian Spendly.
For now, SU will stick with the one compactor, and wait to see if it's the slam dunk they're hoping for, for both the campus and the environment.
Lloyd says they'll probably review the success of the compactor in the spring to see if it's worth just keeping the one, or adding more around campus.