A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-62, regarding a report on replacing open trash receptacles with Big Belly Solar Trash cans, with an emphasis on the business districts

TO: Louis DePasquale City Manager FROM: Owen O’Riordan Public Works Commissioner November 6, 2018 Re: Awaiting Report18-62 of 06/18/2018 regarding Big Belly Solar Trash cans to replace open trash receptacles, with an emphasis on the business districts. In response to the above referenced Awaiting Report please be advised that the Public Works Department (DPW) currently has deployed 892 curbside litter and recycling bins of various types in city squares, major thoroughfares, and city parks across the city. These bins vary by location and consist of open top heavy steel trash and recycling bins, open top temporary plastic trash bins, closed top temporary wire frame recycling bins, and fully enclosed solar compacting trash and recycling bins. Within the last decade the city began a pilot project using Big Belly solar compactors primarily to help find solutions to rodent problems we were having, most particularly in Central Square. Some of the benefits of these units are: • Solar Compaction: To operate, these units do not need to be placed in direct sunlight and can be placed in partially shaded areas. By compacting trash within the unit, they can hold up to 150 gallons of trash or five times that of a regular receptacle. • Rodent Resistance: These units are completely enclosed which helps deter rodents from seeking out the trash inside. They have also helped to control litter by better containing it within the barrel. • Wireless monitoring: All of these receptacles can be monitored remotely using the “clean” software developed by Big Belly. This allows city employees monitor the “fullness” of the trash bin and responded accordingly and respond when there are problems with the compacting mechanism itself.

Because of the reasonable success achieved in Central Square, the department began replacing standard curbside trash receptacles with Big Belly solar compactors in other areas of the city where rodent activity is severe and where daily pick-ups are not always possible and less frequent. In recent street and sidewalk capital construction projects bin replacement has specified Big Belly facilities thus allowing the further expansion of these units across the city. At this time sixty-seven (67) single unit compactors and fifty-eight (58) double unit Big Belly trash and recycling bins have been located throughout the city. Over the last number of months, DPW has had several meetings with representative of Big Belly to explore how they could assist with citywide deployment using advertising wrapped around the bins. While Big Belly has indicated there is some appetite for such advertising, it is unclear as to what extent such would ultimately serve to further underwrite widespread deployment citywide. We are presently awaiting additional information and details from Big Belly and will inform the City Council of any plans for best options for the City. While we await a response, our immediate plan is to move forward with an additional deployment of 20 double units in the Harvard Square area during the spring and summer of 2019. We also expect to continue to specify solar compaction systems in our future street and sidewalk capital projects so the we can continue our roll out of these systems across the city.