Solar-powered trash cans come to downtown Portland

Portland businessman puts out solar-powered trash cans downtown They're expensive, but the Oregon Zoo saves fuel and labor with similar cans

Oregonlive.com
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
STEPHEN BEAVEN
The Oregonian Staff

Portland parking mogul Greg Goodman was walking in Boston last year when he saw something that looked like a mailbox with a solar panel.

Only it wasn't a mailbox. It was a solar-powered trash can that smashes garbage -- making room for more garbage, limiting how often it's emptied and theoretically saving fuel and cutting greenhouse gases.

So Goodman bought two. He donated both to the city of Portland, and they now sit on Southwest Morrison Street, one at Broadway and one at Fifth Avenue. Each features logos for Goodman's City Center Parking, which operates 200 parking facilities, and the Oregon Environmental Council, a nonprofit he supports.


The cans have been on the street for three weeks now, so it's a little early to judge whether they're saving fuel or anything else, city officials said.

But the Oregon Zoo has five similar cans, which have saved fuel and labor, said Michael Weatherman, the zoo's custodial manager.

"I am very happy with them," Weatherman said.

The cans work like this: When garbage reaches a certain level, a sensor triggers the compactor, which smashes the trash. Lights on the front of the can -- green, yellow and red -- tell garbage haulers when it should be emptied. And the solar panel works even in the rain.

The city manages about 600 trash cans, most of them downtown, and has no plans to buy solar-powered models. So two cans are a drop in the bucket if you're looking at the big picture.

But that's exactly what Goodman, a developer and sustainability advocate, is looking at.

Soon, he plans to lobby other businesses in town to donate roughly $4,000, the rather hefty purchase price, to buy more of the trash cans for the city. Like the first two, each would include a logo for the business and a nonprofit the business chooses.

"I've already got others who've told me they're going to do it," Goodman said. "But I want to make sure they're working perfectly before I go out and sell them, because they're not cheap."

Stephen Beaven:
503-294-7663
stevebeaven@news.oregonian.com