Mack Molding, BigBelly Solar receive 2010 environmental stewardship award

June 24, 2010

Mack Molding, Arlington, Vt., and its customer BigBelly® Solar, Needham, Mass., received the Enabling Technologies in Processes and Procedures Award at the 2010 Global Plastics Environmental Conference in Florida in March for the BigBelly Solar Compactor, a patented compacting trash receptacle for large-scale, low-cost municipal waste collection programs.

Sponsored by the Plastics Environmental Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers, the awards challenge companies to raise the bar in the areas of sustainability and recycling and recognize significant achievements in a variety of categories.

Instead of requiring a grid connection, the compactor gets 100 percent of its energy from the sun and uses less than 5 WH per day. The solar photovoltaic panel turns daylight into electricity, which is stored in a small battery inside the unit, allowing the machine to run at night and during prolonged periods of inclement weather.

Similar in size to an ordinary trash receptacle, its capacity is five times greater (160 gal.) because of compaction. Increased capacity reduces collection trips and can cut fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent. When the unit is ready for collection, a wireless monitoring system uses text message technology to signal a Web-based database that the unit is full.

Mack Molding molds the solar bubble of high-impact, UV-resistant polycarbonate resin. It also fabricates the back panel and door out of metal, procures more than 150 parts, and assembles both the compactor and recycler for direct shipment to BigBelly Solar’s customers.