City of Cambridge Participatory Budgeting

Committee: Environment

Cost: $100,000

Location: Replacing existing open bins throughout Cambridge

Short Description: Replace 10 trash barrels and recycling containers, making them rodent-proof and environmentally friendly. Big Belly trash cans will keep the streets clean, prevent pests from being drawn to waste bins, and make it easier to properly dispose of different kinds of waste.

Long Description: 

New Big Belly Solar Compactors – This project will fund the replacement of 10 open trash bins with the new Big Belly bins. The Big Belly bins have several advantages over standard open bins. First, they act as a trash compactor so that the bins need to be emptied less often, freeing up city labor.  The compacting is completely solar powered.  Next, the bins can monitor how full they are and can call for city workers to empty them once they reach capacity.  This also helps to more efficiently use city labor.  Finally, these bins are enclosed, meaning that rodents and other pests will be unable to get into the garbage, which will keep them away from the areas where these bins are emplaced.

Attached Big Belly Recycling – Attached to the above bins will be recycling bins.  In order to help people sort between waste and recycling it’s important to have waste and recycle bins next to each other.  This project will also add recycling bins to existing Big Belly Solar Compactors to make this easier.  These recycling bins also monitor how full they are just like the Big Belly waste bins, and are also enclosed, providing many of the same benefits.

Waste in Cambridge continues to be a challenge – with additional funds the city will be able to accelerate the city’s 5-year waste management plan. This project will add improvements to waste and recycling, and add signage to help better use these new features most effectively. This project will have broad impacts on Cambridge where residents have expressed the greatest need.