New York tests solar trash compactor
Search the Engadget archives, and you'll find the same author writing repeatedly about new refuse-related technologies — today, he's actually got two trash-related posts! We'll assume this is just a coincidence, and that the powers that be at Engadget Global HQ aren't trying to tell us something by putting us on the trash-tech beat. At any rate, we were intrigued to learn that New York City is currently testing a solar-powered portable compactor. The unit, which looks more like a mailbox than a trashcan, is dubbed BigBelly, and can hold up to eight times as much trash as an ordinary garbage can. Solar cells on the lid store enough power for the trashcan to operate; sensors detect incoming trash, and compress it as needed. The $4,500 can, developed by Westborough, Massachusetts-based Seahorse Power, is being tested in lower Manhattan. (Okay, Engadget. How about a promotion now, maybe to the high-tech toilet beat?)
