Syracuse, NY - Fans of the $4,000 Big Belly trash can point to Philadelphia as the model for installing a successful system of the solar-powered, compacting, smart talking waste receptacles.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter brags that the new trash cans are so efficient, they are saving the city $1 million a year.
But it turns out, not everyone in Philly is a fan of the trash can that could be placed by the hundreds around Syracuse.
An attentive Syracuse.com reader forwarded a 2010 report by Philadelphia Controller Alan Butkovitz that blasts the $4,000 trash cans as wasteful and unkempt and raised questions about the way the city spent $2 million without bids.
A Philadelphia controller's investigation said Big Belly trash cans attract graffiti, as seen in this provided photo.
The report includes pictures of trash cans with overflowing garbage, clouded solar panel covers, malfunctioning alerts and physical damage. One was hit by a car and has a replacement cost of $3,075, the report said.
Brian Dries, controller spokesman, said the office has not done a follow-up investigation, but he can see some of the trash cans from his office.
"I can tell you that some of these conditions still exist," he said. "The graffiti, like some of the pictures in the report - you see the trash that's around them, some of the more disgusting looking things hanging around the Big Bellies - that still exists."
The mayor's office has not responded to an interview request.
Other issues the comptroller raised:
- Crews said they were not trained to operate and care for the new machines, which replaced $100 wire baskets. Crews did not have operating manuals and were not performing the recommended maintenance. They did not even have the tools.
- During a one-month observation, compactors were emptied on average 61 percent of the time, even though the alert status said they "do not need to be collected."
- The night trash collection crews did not have access to the system that wirelessly reports when each trash can is full. They serviced each trash can each night anyway.
- Daytime crews that responded to trash can full alerts said the alerts are often wrong and hours old.
- The city may have exaggerated the savings. During a two-month observation, crews collected trash from Big Bellies 10 times a week on average - more than double the anticipated frequency.
- The city did not factor into its savings the extra time it takes to empty the machine compared to the old-style baskets. It also takes time to clean up graffiti, which seems to be invited more than the old baskets.
Onondaga County bought two Big Belly trash cans for demonstration and is writing a grant application with the city of Syracuse to buy 300 more. One is at the zoo and the other is near the OnCenter. The goal is to save money in gas and manpower and to discourage litter as part of the effort to clean up Onondaga Lake.
Talking trash in Philly:
Philly.com: Controller's report trashes city's BigBelly compactors
Blogger Vance Lehmkuhl doesn't like to touch the handles.
Philadelphia Controller Alan Butkovitz's 2010 report on Big Belly solar trash cans
Contact Michelle Breidenbach at (315) 470-3186, mbreidenbach@syracuse.com or follow on Twitter @mbreidenbach.