Big Bellies at The Big E

Carter Wall

Executive Director, Renewable Energy Division, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

Of all the wonderful fall fairs in New England, the Big E is the biggest! Held every year in West Springfield in the beautiful Connecticut River Valley, all of the New England states gather to show off their prize pumpkins, apple pies, maple syrup, and all the other things that make this such a great place to live.

big bellies

But as you can imagine, a really big fair means a really big pile of garbage every year. This year, the staff from the state’s Department of Agricultural Resources went all out to ‘green up’ the fair. In addition to 225 recycling barrels for bottles and cans, they expanded their recycling program to include organic waste for the first time — by about halfway through the fair, over 3.5 tons were already on their way to becoming compost. They also did a lot to decrease the amount of waste that was created in the first place, by installing metered faucets and working with vendors to decrease the amount of food preparation waste.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) pitched in by contributing 6 Big Belly solar trash compactors (one pictured here outside the Massachusetts building). These hardworking compactors, made by a Massachusetts company, harvest the sun’s power to compact garbage, which reduces by up to 80 percent the number of garbage truck trips during the fair. Now that the fair is over, MassCEC plans to donate the Big Belly compactors to the Department of Conservation and Recreation for use in state parks around the Commonwealth. Good for the environment, and good for everyone’s health. That deserves a blue ribbon!

Written By:

lcapone

As Deputy Director of DOER's Green Communities Division, Lisa helps lead a team devoted to working with Massachusetts cities and towns to realize environmental and cost benefits of municipal energy efficiency and renewable energy. Prior to joining DOER, Lisa worked in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs from 2007 to 2012, first as Press Secretary and then as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Public Affairs. Her previous communications and public relations experience includes both government and the private sector, where, as principal of upWrite Communications, she served clients such as The Trustees of Reservations, The Nature Conservancy, and Partners Health Care/North Shore Medical Center. She began her career as a journalist, covering Beacon Hill for the State House News Service, and later wrote for a variety of other publications including The Boston Globe, Teacher Magazine, Animals Magazine, and The Gulf of Maine Times. The author of two books, Lisa serves on the board of the Saugus River Watershed Council and resides with her family in Melrose.