California’s Bardessono hotel and Spa has installed a first-of-its-kind combination solar powered trash compactor and portable cardboard baler at its LEED Platinum Certified property in the Napa Valley.  Completely off the grid, the solar powered compactor packs 16 yards of loose trash into just 4 yards, reducing waste pick-up at the property to just once per week, thus reducing hauling costs by 50%, cutting CO2 emissions by over 14 tons each year, and limiting garbage truck noise to guests and neighbouring residents.
In Brief
- The solar cardboard baler fits into a small space, yet crushes 150-200 boxes into an easy-to-handle 200lb bale making recycling simple and efficient.
- Built by local company Bay Area Trash Compactor, the solar compactor is the first of its kind to provide waste handling and recycling side-by-side with no wired electrical hook-up.
In Depth
- Read the full story here.
- Follow Bardessono Hotel on Twitter
- Read Green Hotelier’s guide to waste management for hotels
