FOXe Report: Solar Trash Compactors

Head to downtown San Marcos, and you'll find a trash can with one big appetite.

"This is a big belly solar compactor," said Mayor Susan Narvaiz.

"Yeah it's a big belly," added Parks and Recreation Facilities Director Jimmy Venable. "It's five times as much trash as you get in one can."

And it's an appetite fed by the sun.

"The sun's solar power will have it operate for a week even in no sun," said Narvaiz.

San Marcos is testing out three of these solar-powered trash compactors. At $3,500 each, they're not cheap, but since trash is compacted down, they rarely need to be emptied.

"Since we got these downtown, we've emptied them twice, where the other ones have been emptied 2 or 3 times a week," said Venable.

The city hopes the units will pay for themselves in four years. So far, they've gotten plenty of second-looks.

"Yes, we've had a lot of people commenting on them," said Narvaiz.

But San Marcos residents should be used to seeing things like this. The city has a fleet of hybrid and propane-powered vehicles. They're even considering electric cars. Also, San Marcos recently adopted "single-stream" recycling, allowing residents to recycle more items, and just use one bin.

"We want to see a cleaner, greener San Marcos," said Narvaiz.

As for the solar trash cans...

"So far, they've been working pretty good," said Venable.

You can find the solar-powered trash compactors on the town square in front of San Marcos Title Company, on LBJ Drive near University Drive, and at Hopkins and Guadalupe streets.