Big Bellies, manufactured by Massachusetts-based Seahorse Power, use solar panels to recharge a 12-volt battery powering the compactor’s electrical motor. They can hold four to five times more garbage than the regular 95-gallon bins currently used in Chicago. When the trash amount reaches a certain level, the container compacts the trash, making space for more garbage. Lights outside the container indicate if the device is full, compacting or ready for more intake.

The compactor motor can operate for up to two weeks on just four hours of sunlight, said Greg Crowley, a spokesman for CEG Industrial Systems, a distributor for the containers. He said the unit’s battery can be charged even on overcast days. The metal containers also will save energy by requiring fewer trash pickups; in a downtown test run, they required only one-fourth of the pickups of normal trash bins.