The City of Santa Clarita recently installed the first of 34 new solar-powered, trash compacting bins that will offer residents a new way to keep the community clean while increasing efficiency.

The BigBelly Solar trash bins compact waste using electricity produced by built-in solar panels, which allows each receptacle to hold five times more trash than traditional bins. The compactors also include a wireless system that allows the City to monitor recycling over the Internet, which limits trash and recycling collections by only visiting locations that need to be serviced.

In addition to eliminating overflow and reducing frequency of garbage collection, the Big Belly Solar bins will be custom wrapped with a distinctive Santa Clarita design, that will make the units unique and highly visible.

In April 2012, the City was awarded a competitive grant through the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to fund this innovative recycling program. The City of Santa Clarita joins other cities in implementing this new technology, including Philadelphia, Boston and Salzburg, Austria.

For more information on Santa Clarita’s sustainability efforts or the Big Belly Solar bins, visit GreenSantaClarita.com.