Posted on 07/21/2013 8:59:34 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
Syracuse, NY - There is a $4,000 trash can at the zoo in Syracuse.
There's another one near a downtown parking lot outside the OnCenter.
Taxpayers bought them with federal stimulus money.
Onondaga County's Deputy County Executive Matt Millea would like to use state money to buy as many as 300 more and put them all over Syracuse. That could cost more than $1 million.
Millea is proud of the "Big Belly" solar trash cans - even though each one costs about 21 times more than a traditional municipal can.
Each Big Belly is powered by solar panels that operate a compactor that can crush 150 gallons of trash so it fits in one can. That's five times more than a typical trash can holds, according to the manufacturer.
That's not all. It also has a wireless connection that beams an alert to staff in the mothership office when the trash can is full and ready to be emptied....
Stimulus funding, more formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was intended to make jobs.
The whole idea of installing Big Bellies is to reduce the workload for municipalities.
(Excerpt) Read more at syracuse.com ...
They have these solar-powered trash cans all over the Virginia Commonwealth University campus.
They are a huge one-time cost, plus I assume there is some small cost for maintenance, and for maintaining wireless links.
On the other hand, if they save time in trash collection, they might well pay for themselves over time. Not only do you have to empty them only 1/5th of the time of a regular can, but you don’t have to go to pick them up until they tell you they are full, whereas traditional trash collection sends people to every can regularly, even if the can has almost nothing in it.
They also save some amount of money on the bags that you put in a traditional can — at least you would use 1/5th as many.
I have no idea if the trade-off is worth it. I’d love to see that someone actually did that before purchasing them.
You forgot about the scan that inventories what you discarded and deposits it in your NSA file. Your insurance company will be able to determine if you really quit using tobacco. You may get a note telling you to cut back on the twinkies or lose your healthcare.
[Spoiled children never learn the difference between want and need.]
Ain’t that the truth. And don’t even think about asking them how they plan on paying for what they WANT.
They love to worship anything shiny — especially when it’s shiny government infrastructure that lines their pockets and that everybody ELSE has to pay for.
Oh joy!
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