Newsweek.com:
Let's Talk Trash
September 10, 2009 10:24 AM
If you had to devise a product designed to succeed in this unique climate, it might be one that makes an eco-friendly, alternative-energy-powered, carbon-reducing, American-made, public-space-beautifying commodity that saves municipalities money and that can be purchased with stimulus funds.
In other words, it might be the BigBelly solar-powered trash compactor. Capital investment and discretionary spending have fallen this year, but BigBelly Solar's sales are up 80 percent.
It's progress signifies a truism about this post-bubble economy: Efficiency is the new growth. In this period of universally tight budgets, products and services—even expensive ones—that demonstrate an ability to save resources and money are gaining traction. Said founder Jim Poss: "People who were receptive to us because we're green are now really receptive to us because we save money, and, by the way, we're also green."
Some highlights of the article include:
- Garbage cans are filled mostly with air and the trucks are expensive to operate—about $100 per hour, all costs considered.
- The BigBelly compactor fills up more slowly than a garbage can, it doesn't need to be emptied as often. Which makes it a potential money-saver when used in remote areas—like ski resorts and state parks—or in urban areas where volumes of trash require frequent pickups.
- Philadelphia leased 500 BigBelly units and placed them downtown. In areas where the BigBelly operates, the city picks up the trash five times per week instead of 17. The city is saving $800,000 a year in labor and fuel costs and will save $12 million over the products' 10-year lifespan—without any reduction in service. Philadelphia has redeployed workers from collecting trash to recycling initiatives.
- Like the compact fluorescent light bulb, BigBelly compactors are expensive replacements that can justify their high costs through savings generated over time, even in the absence of government incentives.
- As a rule of thumb, says Poss, if the installation of a BigBelly can save an hour of collection time per month on a garbage can, it pays off relatively quickly. "In a city that collects once per day, or in a park system where there's travel time of 10 to 20 minutes to reach a garbage can and they collect three times per week," it pays for itself in about three to four years. For a large-scale user who deploys them in a concentrated area, the savings can be greater.