BigBellies in the Sun

They look like something you'd pop a package or flick an envelope inside, but don't make that mistake, says the town's assistant engineer.

"Don't put your mail in there, you'll never see it again," said Victoria Masone.

BigBelly Solar trash compactors gobble up trash.

A solar panel on top of the box powers a motorized plate that presses down trash inside the square box, making room for additional trash, she said.

A BigBelly holds an estimated four times the trash that a barrel holds so crews spend less time emptying barrels.

Less barrel emptying means less travel and fuel consumption and fewer greenhouse gas emissions, Masone said.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources's Division of Green Communities recently gave Swampscott three BigBellies, each valued at $3,500.

The gifts were in recognition of the town's designation as a Green Community.

The town placed the compactors by the concession stand at the Forest Avenue ballfields, at Phillips Park and at the Upper Jackson Field.

Two years ago the town purchased three Big Bellies, one of which was funded by the Phillips Beach Neighborhood Association.

That BigBelly is located at Phillips Beach.

The other two were put at Fisherman's Beach and the field at Clarke School, Masone said.

Last fall the Clarke compactor got burned up. It's unknown how it happened but the inside was burned.

The compactor is being repaired and will return to service once it is fixed.

The compactors operate year-round. A battery stores the energy, which can be used as needed.

"So they are entirely self-sufficient," Masone said.

It took a while for residents to warm to the BigBellies, but now they are as likely to toss trash in BigBellies as they would toss it in garbage barrels, the assistant town engineer said.