Photos of BigBelly receptacles in Richmond courtesy of the city.
Richmond is set to enter the third phase of a project to swap out old public trash-receptacles with versions that have solar-powered compactors and feature technology that enables them to be monitored remotely by city workers, who are alerted when they reach capacity.
The city says the modern Bigbelly receptacles have nearly cut in half the number of times they need to be serviced when compared to previous bins. Before their installation, there was an estimated four collections per month per bin. Now the average is 2.13 collections per month per bin, city staff said.