Houston-based Waste Management (WM) has reached an agreement with Needham, Mass.-based BigBelly Solar under which WM will provide WM Solar Powered Trash Compactors to its municipal and high-traffic facility customers. With the agreement, WM has become the exclusive waste and environmental services company distributor of BigBelly solar compactor technology in North America.

The compactors are self-powered and use built-in solar panels to compact waste. About the same size as a standard 35-gallon trash barrel, each compactor provides five times the capacity of a traditional trash receptacle, according to WM. When the unit reaches capacity, sensors trigger an internal compactor that flattens the trash.

“We know busy intersections, public parks, city streets, sporting events and other public spaces can be magnets for trash,” said Dave Aardsma, senior vice president of sales and marketing for WM, in a press release. “Ordinary trash barrels can easily overflow and become eyesores. The Waste Management solar powered trash compactor can provide a number of solutions in those uses, by reducing waste collection frequency, lowering costs for our customers and ensuring a greener, cleaner environment.”