Main Street and Onset are freshly furnished with brand-new trash and recycling units in an effort to provide a cost-effective, sustainable way to keep the town clean.

The Bigbelly trash compactors are 150 gallons, said Town Administrator Derek Sullivan. The solar-powered units compact trash and send an alert when the trash cans are full, which saves time and money since Municipal Maintenance won’t have to check them as frequently. They also keep animals out of the trash.

The trash compactors also have a recycling unit on them to encourage proper disposal of waste. They have panels on the sides which can be used for advertising businesses or community events.

There will be five Bigbelly trash compactors installed on Main Street this week and four in Onset. Each unit costs $6,350.

“This one-time funding overall will keep our operational costs down,” Sullivan said. “We can actually do this because now we won’t be sending people off to check trash cans all the time.” According to Bigbelly's website, collection crews reduce trash collection by 70 to 80 percent on average with Bigbelly.

A benefit of the trash compactors is that they can reduce carbon footprint and CO2 emissisions with fewer truck rolls, less fuel consumption and air pollution, Bigbelly's website says.

The compactors on Main Street are funded through the Community Development Block Grant Program. The ones in Onset are paid for through the parking program, A.D. Makepeace Company and Gatra.

Sullivan said most of the trash compactors are being placed near businesses to help with trash in those areas.

“There’s been a lot of effort toward trash recently,” Sullivan said. He said since the funding for the new compactors was available, it was a good time to start making the change in town.