The two “missing” bus shelters on Main Street will be replaced in the coming weeks.

The bus shelter in front of Walgreens at North Main Street and Louise Avenue was destroyed due to a non-injury vehicle accident.

The bus shelter in front of BR Funsten at North Main and Industrial Park Drive was removed since the old wooden shelter was about to collapse. That shelter — as well as the accompanying bench — was put in place years ago by the Manteca Morning Rotary Club.

Deputy Public Works Director Koosun Kim noted municipal transit staff has prepared a contract for the installation of two new bus shelters and will try to get them in place as soon as possible.

Homeless trash

smart trash can

Manteca now has eight BigBelly solar-powered trash bins with built-in compactors placed around town at places such as Big League Dreams, the quad at the Manteca Civic Center, two at Woodward Park, the Manteca Unifies School District headquarters campus, Northgate Park, as well as several city parks.

The city used to have a ninth solar-powered smart trash can at Library Park until the homeless literally trashed it by using a crowbar to retrieve compacted aluminum cans.

First deployed in Manteca in 2015, the solar powered trash cans are added as the city gets recycling grants tied into California Redemption Value containers. The BigBelly trash collection bins have reduced the need for pickups by at least half. It also allows recyclables to be separated from regular trash.

Each trash can has two bins — one for trash and the other for all recyclables.

Once the items inside the trash bins reach a certain level, the contents are compacted. They hold five times the amount of a bin of similar size. When the bins are full, a computer sends a message to the BigBelly cloud that then notifies the Manteca Solid Waste Division so a pickup can be scheduled.

The bins are solar powered and do not require electricity. The bins constantly recharge an internal battery during daylight hours. Bins are able to function for more than 72 hours without direct sunlight.

The compaction feature allows them to hold 150 gallons of trash or recyclables instead of the 30-gallon capacity of a non-smart bin.

A BigBelly hopper design feature keeps waste contained in the bin while deterring pest access and preventing water overflow and wind-blown litter. It also assures that no one can get near the compaction mechanism when it is working.

BigBelly has noted that many cities deploy the smart trash bins in various public venues such as downtowns, parks, and sports complexes in a bid to reduce costs as well as improve aesthetics.

What do you think

of City of Manteca?

There is still more than two weeks left to make your opinion known about the City of Manteca through the Community Satisfaction Survey that you can fill out on the city website at ci.manteca.ca.us.

City Manager Tim Ogden Tuesday noted 1,750 surveys have already been filled out.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com