The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy held a ribbon cutting for its new "Bigbelly" trash cans yesterday. The conservancy purchased seven of the cans for use in the Hunters Point South Park. The new cans are fully enclosed, helping to keep rodents out, and can hold five times as much garbage as traditional trash cans due to its ability to compact the trash through solar power. Officials say with park attendance significantly increased due the pandemic, the new trash cans are a greatly needed addition.

"Our parks get a lot of people. And what we don't like to see is what we call the snow cone effect, when trash cans overflow. It's unsightly, it's a food source for rodents. So, here to have it contained in a unit, it's attractive, it's easy to use, very vibrant with the beautiful green colors. So, the public really appreciates it," said New York CIty Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver. 

Four of the seven cans were installed in the park at the beginning of July. The other three are set to be installed next week.