Fred Kent of Project for Public Spaces was back in town this past weekend as the keynote speaker at the Garden Clubs of America conference.

On Saturday afternoon Fred, his PPS team and members of the Greater Kennedy Plaza Working Group facilitated a workshop with over 170 conference attendees to examine how this particular public space could be better utilized. Please visit www.pps.org for more information on the Placemaking process.

There are now five new BigBelly solar compactors eating up trash throughout Biltmore and Burnside Parks as well as Kennedy Plaza proper.

The BigBelly “uses the sun’s energy to compact trash at the point of disposal, dramatically increasing capacity by 5 times within the same footprint as ordinary receptacles. Increased capacity reduces collection trips and can cut related fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.”

Made in the USA, BigBelly can operate for eight years on the equivalent energy it takes to drive a garbage truck one mile!