Our team plans to design a solar powered recycling/trash compaction receptacle. We focus on decreasing the cost per unit of the product in comparison with a competitor, and increasing the efficiency of serviceability. We concentrate on aesthetic design, increasing user awareness and improving the ease of operation of the product.

The approach Team SOS took to the ecomagination Challenge started out simple: identify a problem around campus and find a solution. It would have been easy to simply stop here, but this would only achieve minimal impact. The team wanted to make as big a difference on campus as possible.

Individually, each member surveyed the campus, noting the various ecological issues faced at UMCP. Along with the other participating groups at the school, Team SOS found excessive Styrofoam use in the dining halls, a large amount of wasted food, litter on the streets and sidewalks, and a serious water runoff problem. Each of these problems can be easily fixed: use a recyclable plastic material instead of Styrofoam, start a composting program, install rain gardens in parking lots. However, each of these solutions left little room for innovation. This was the true challenge - solving a simple problem in a unique and interesting way.

The first step was to choose one problem. Team SOS found that there were more opportunities for innovation and creativity in finding a solution to the excess waste and litter on campus. It is a glaringly obvious problem in that students, faculty, and visitors are constantly walking by trashcans that are overflowing with trash. In what way could the team reduce or eliminate this excess trash? One way was by compacting it all inside the individual trashcans.

To make the trash compactor unique, it was suggested that the system be powered by solar energy. As a country the United States has recently faced an increase in energy costs due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and a dependency on the Far East for much of its oil. An alternative solution to this dependency is using renewable energy sources, including solar, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, and wind. As of 2004, however, these resources were not being employed very often; only six percent of energy used in the United States is renewable and only one percent of that energy comes from the sun. Current trends show that companies are looking to employ more solar power in the future. The benefits include a constant energy source which can be harnessed almost every day depending on the weather. Solar energy can easily be used to charge rechargeable batteries. This helps cut down on electronic waste from throwing away batteries. It also makes solar power a good choice for powering outdoor trash compactors. The solar photovoltaic (PV) panels can easily be mounted on top of a trash can.

A solar-powered trash compactor seems to be a creative solution to a very simple problem. However, Team SOS did not settle with that idea. Solar powered trash compactors are already on the market, but the current model, the BigBelly, was not satisfying customers. After researching the most common complaints with this product and the issues students and faculty at the University of Maryland had with the current waste disposal system, the team found that in order to fulfill the needs of the customers, the new compactors had to be less expensive, allow for recycling, and be aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.

By using the voice of the customer, the team was able to design a superior product that addressed many concerns of the people who were surveyed. Students and faculty who spent time on campus felt that the trash cans currently placed around campus were not large enough to contain the amount of waste generated. They said that there needed to be more recycling bins placed conveniently around the campus. The compaction of the trash inside the bins will make more space for trash to be thrown away. Also, by putting a recycling bin with each trash bin, the number of recycling bins is automatically increased which will in turn increase recycling on campus.

In addition, the new design addresses concerns about the confusing design of the current model on the market. From the outside of the new model, both the trash and recycling bins look like normal trashcans. They are to be clearly labeled with which bin is for trash and which is for recyclable materials.

Another concern of the team was how to help the Building and Landscape Services department which deals with trash collection on campus. Making the cost of the units manageable was a major point to address. The combined trash and recycling compactors could share parts, making them less expensive than buying two separate units. Another issue with cost is paying for the manpower to collect trash on campus. If the trash cans can hold more waste without overflowing, the Building and Landscape Services workers will not have to collect it as often, cutting down on the cost of collection. Also, simply by having a recycling component, the school benefits because it receives money for each ton of recyclables it collects. Plus, if the recycling is separate from trash, it will not be added into the weight of the solid waste disposed into the local landfill. Since the school is charged based on this weight, this fee will be less. In 2005, the school was charged almost $350,000 in dumping fees while making back less than $85,000 from recyclables.

Through an interview with Sandra Dykes, Assistant Director of Administrative Services for Building and Landscape Services, the team learned that the department was looking into purchasing a trash compactor already in order to cut down on transporting heavy loads often. This provides another opportunity to help the school.

In summary, Team SOS's solar-powered trash and recycling compactor is unique and interesting because it shows creativity in solving the waste problem on campus. By incorporating a renewable, environmentally friendly energy source the project goes beyond impacting the environment at face value. Not only is the idea innovative and ecofriendly, but it benefits the students, faculty, and visitors at the University of Maryland as well as the people who actually collect the trash.

The specific problem this project addresses is waste build up and the lack of recycling receptacles on campus. The waste receptacles on campus do not have a capacity that is high enough to contain the amount of waste that is created by the inhabitants. In 2005, the University of Maryland campus generated 9,254 tons of solid waste. Of that, only 2,114 tons were separated and processed as recyclable materials, which only accounts for roughly 22 percent of the waste stream. Currently, many of the waste receptacles on campus are overflowing and creating an environmental hazard because the waste is on the ground and travels to other parts of campus due to its lack of containment. A subsidiary issue related to this problem is the lack of recycling options on campus. Recycling receptacles are difficult to locate and identify on campus, which reduces the effectiveness of recycling programs.