All summer long, residents of the Long Island City waterfront have been tormented by an influx of massive crowds at Hunters Point South Park. Numerous food vendor trucks have been operating up and down Center Boulevard, resulting in mounds of trash strewn about the park on most mornings.
Over a three-week period in late July and early August, seven brand-new, high-capacity, solar-powered compacting trash cans have been installed throughout the park. The machines are manufactured by Bigbelly, the global leader in solar-powered compacting garbage cans, and were purchased by the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy for use by the New York City Parks Department.
On Thursday, Aug. 6, at 9:30 a.m, Hunters Point Conservancy will be hosting a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony in Hunters Point South Park near the intersection of Center Boulevard and Borden Avenue. NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and Queens Parks Commissioner Michael Dockett will be present to help unveil the new receptacles.
“The Conservancy is thrilled that during these challenging times we were able to address a community concern and provide a much-needed asset to Hunters Point South Park,” HPPC President Rob Basch said. “We particularly want to thank our New York City Parks employees for their cooperation and efforts to make the Bigbellies a success. We will continue to look for opportunities to further assist our beautiful waterfront parks.”
Each compactor unit can hold five times as much garbage as a standard trash can, by using solar power to compact the garbage inside. The units are fully enclosed and have a hands-free foot pedal, which enables HPPC and NYC Parks to reduce and eliminate overflowing trash cans; prevent windblown litter within the park; provide patrons of the park a cleaner environment; prevent rodents and other animals from consuming the trash; reduce plastic bag usage by five times and save hundreds of bags each year; and divert more labor hours to other high-value tasks within the park instead of trash collecting.
“Hunters Point South Park is a heavily used green space in Long Island City, and the installation of new trash compactors comes right in time for the busy summer season,” NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver said. “We’re grateful to the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy for their continued support and we remind all visitors to pitch in to help keep this waterfront gem litter-free.”
