Downtown Debuts Solar-Powered Compactor

NORTH ADAMS - Main Street visitors may have noticed the solar-powered trash compactor that suddenly appeared downtown this week but most probably don't know where it came from or how it works.

Donated by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the compactor - a simple black machine about the size of a mailbox - is a product of Needham-based BigBelly Solar, who specializes in manufacturing the world's only solar-powered cordless compaction system.

Emily Dahl, a public information officer at MTC, said the state agency offered more than a dozen free compactors to municipalities throughout the state who expressed an interest in trying them out.

"They can be used to familiarize the public with how renewable energy, especially solar, can be used," said Dahl.

The compactor, the only one donated to a community in Berkshire County through this pilot program, holds up to five times the volume of ordinary trash receptacles and up to 150 gallons of trash, according to information provided by BigBelly. A solar panel on the compactor’s top powers the machine 100 percent, even without direct sunlight.

There are hundreds of compactors throughout the country, on campuses, in parks and at beaches, on city streets and at Fenway Park. With over 40 distributors nationwide, BigBelly can help significantly cut down on greenhouse gas emissions because fewer trips need to be made to dispose of the waste inside.

The Bigbelly reduces waste collection frequency, lowers costs and can pay for itself in as little as 1.5 years.

MCLA Graduates Told to Make the World Worthy of Them

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
05:27PM / Saturday, May 16, 2026

Keynote speaker Michael Bobbitt was awarded an honorary doctor of fine arts. He told the graduates to make the world worthy of them. See more photos here.  

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Amsler Campus Center gym erupted in cheers on Saturday as 193 members of class of 2026 turned their tassels.

 

The graduates of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' 127th commencement were sent off with the charge of "don't stop now" to make the world a better place.  

 

You are Trailblazers, keynote speaker Michael Bobbitt reminded them, and a "trailblazer is not simply someone who walks a path. A trailblazer makes one, but blazing a trail does not happen alone. Every trailblazer is carrying tools made by somebody else. Every trailblazer is guided by stars they did not create. Every trailblazer stands on grounds shaped by ancestors, teachers, workers, neighbors, friends, and strangers."

 

Trailblazing takes communal courage, he said, and they needed to love people, build with people, argue with people, and find the people who make them braver and kinder at the same time.

 

"The future will not be saved by isolated geniuses, it will be saved by networks of people willing to practice courage together. The future belongs not to the loudest, not to the richest, not to the most certain, but to the most adaptive, the most creative, the most courageous, the most willing to learn."

 

Bobbitt was recently named CEO of Opera American after nearly five years leading the Massachusetts Cultural Council. He stressed the importance of art to the graduates, and noted that opera is not the only art form facing challenges in this world. 

 

"Every field is asking, who are we for now? What do we, what value do we create?" he said. "What do we stop pretending is fine. This is not just an arts question, that is a healthcare question, a climate question, a technology question, a community question, a higher education question, a democracy question, a life question. ...