Bigbelly
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersNeedham, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Bigbelly does
Bigbelly, Inc. is a privately held US company founded in 2003 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, that designs, manufactures, and sells solar-powered compacting smart waste and recycling bins for public and commercial spaces. The core product line (Element, Sense, Sense Max, Smart, Smart Max, and the 2025-launched SmartSolar) integrates IoT sensors reporting fullness, collection activity, bin status, and GPS location to the CLEAN cloud-based management console. A separate Smart Compost system, paired with a resident mobile app, addresses multi-family residential food waste collection with controlled access to limit contamination.
The company's business model combines hardware sales, a recurring CLEAN software subscription, and managed-services revenue from the Smart Compost program. Distribution is direct enterprise sales to municipalities, universities, airports, parks, transit agencies, amusement parks and zoos, food service operators, and business improvement districts, with quote-based multi-year contracts. Customers include the City of Philadelphia (collection frequency reduced from 17 to 3 times per week), New York City (670 bins), Copenhagen Airport (64 bins plus CLEAN software), UC Berkeley (53% waste diversion), and the San Diego Downtown Partnership. Manufacturing is concentrated at a single facility in Methuen, Massachusetts, and the company reports active deployments across North America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East.
Bigbelly's quantified value claims include up to 5x bin capacity versus traditional receptacles, up to 80% reduction in waste collections, up to 70% reduction in fuel consumption and GHG emissions, and 40-90% reduction in rat and pest activity in deployed areas. Leadership is led by President and CEO Brian Phillips and CFO Jeff Wakely. The company has received capital from McCarthy Capital (2019) and engaged Cambridge Savings Bank (2023); no public revenue or valuation is disclosed.
Bigbelly firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bigbelly
- Legal name
- Bigbelly, Inc.
- Website
- https://bigbelly.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bigbelly industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Smart Waste Management Systems
- NAICS
- Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Waste Management & Smart Sanitation (Facilities) (HSAPAPAM)
Keywords
Where Bigbelly is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Needham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Bigbelly business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Smart Bin Hardware Sales: Sale of smart waste bins including Element, Sense, Sense Max, Smart, and Smart Max models. Hardware includes various capacity options (47-150 gallon bins), compaction features, and connectivity levels. Pricing is likely project/quote-based given enterprise sales motion.
- CLEAN™ Software Subscription: Subscription-based cloud software platform (CLEAN™) for waste management fleet operations, providing real-time monitoring, collection management, analytics, and mobile apps.
- Smart Compost Program: Residential food waste collection program with smart compost bins and mobile app access, designed for multi-family residential areas.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise quote-based pricing for smart bins and software |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Bigbelly product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bigbelly designs, manufactures, and sells solar-powered smart waste and recycling bins equipped with IoT sensors and compaction technology, delivering up to 5x the capacity of traditional bins. The hardware is paired with the proprietary CLEAN™ cloud-based management software that provides real-time fullness monitoring, collection management, GPS tracking, and analytics for connected bin fleets deployed across public spaces such as municipalities, universities, airports, and transit systems.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CLEAN™: Cloud-based management console software for monitoring and optimizing waste collection operations
Products and services
- Bigbelly Element Solar-powered, fully enclosed smart waste or recycling bin from Bigbelly's standard public waste product suite, designed for cities, campuses, and other public space operators.
- Bigbelly Sense Smart waste and recycling bin in the Bigbelly Sense family with fullness-level sensing for public space deployments, paired with the CLEAN™ management console.
- Bigbelly Sense Max Higher-capacity smart waste and recycling bin in the Bigbelly Sense Max family with fullness sensing, designed for high-volume public space locations.
- Bigbelly Smart Connected smart compacting waste and recycling bin with solar-powered compaction, IoT sensors, and integration with the CLEAN™ cloud software platform for real-time monitoring and collection management.
- Bigbelly Smart Max Highest-capacity connected smart compacting waste and recycling bin in the Bigbelly Smart Max line, delivering up to 5x the capacity of traditional bins and reducing collection frequency by up to 80%.
- CLEAN™ Software Cloud-based management console software that monitors and optimizes waste collection operations for connected Bigbelly smart bin fleets, providing real-time fullness monitoring, collection activity tracking, bin status, GPS location, and analytics.
- Bigbelly Smart Compost Controlled-access solar smart compost bin designed for multi-family residential food waste collection, paired with a mobile app that provides resident access, intentional food waste disposal, and proven low contamination rates.
- Smart Compost Mobile App Mobile application that gives residents controlled access to Bigbelly Smart Compost bins, enabling intentional food waste disposal and program participation tracking for multi-family residential food waste collection.
- SmartSolar Compacting Bin New solar-powered compacting waste bin launched in March 2025, extending Bigbelly's smart waste management product line.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces waste collections by up to 80%
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Bigbelly
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Bigbelly technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
Bigbelly partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- MassRecycleminorBigbelly partnered with MassRecycle to host a factory tour at its Methuen manufacturing facility in celebration of Earth Day on April 22. The event brought together municipal and university leaders, sustainability professionals, and business leaders from across New England to learn about Bigbelly's solar-powered compaction technology.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bigbelly competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- CleanRobotics: Maker of TrashBot, an AI-driven waste-sorting bin that identifies and separates recyclables from landfill material at the point of disposal. Overlaps with Bigbelly in smart public-space bins but competes on a different value proposition (sorting vs. compaction).
Direct peers
- Compology: Container-monitoring platform using camera-based sensors and analytics to track bin fullness, contamination, and collection activity for commercial and municipal waste fleets. Comparable IoT-and-software approach to Bigbelly's CLEAN stack.
- Ecube Labs: Korean manufacturer of solar-powered compacting waste bins (Clean Cube) sold to municipalities and airports worldwide. Closest direct head-to-head competitor to Bigbelly in solar-compactor smart bins with route-optimization software.
- Enevo: Provider of IoT fill-level sensors, smart-waste analytics, and route optimization for waste haulers and municipalities (now part of WM). Overlaps directly with Bigbelly's CLEAN software layer and IoT sensor technology on bins.
- Nordsense: Sensor-based waste management provider serving European municipalities with fill-level monitoring and analytics — directly comparable on the IoT waste-sensor niche Bigbelly addresses in its CLEAN platform.
- Sensoneo: Smart waste management solutions including ultrasonic fill-level sensors, route optimization, and asset tracking deployed across European municipalities. Direct overlap in the IoT waste-monitoring category.
Broad incumbents
- Republic Services: Second-largest North American waste services company rolling out technology-enabled collection including route optimization and container sensors. Adjacent incumbent that competes with Bigbelly for municipal smart-waste RFPs by bundling hardware-free.
- Waste Management, Inc. Largest North American waste services company, which acquired Enevo. While primarily a hauler, WM is increasingly bundling smart-bin and IoT-route offerings with its collection services, putting it in direct and indirect competition with Bigbelly at scale.
- Suez Environnement: Global environmental services and water/waste management major with smart-city IoT and circular-economy offerings serving European municipalities — overlapping with Bigbelly's municipal customer base and broader sustainability value proposition.
Others
- Pepperl+Fuchs: Global industrial sensor and connectivity vendor whose ultrasonic, RFID, and IoT products underpin much of the bin-monitoring hardware ecosystem. Comparable as a component/infrastructure enabler that could integrate with or compete against Bigbelly's smart-bin stack.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Bigbelly social profiles
Digital presenceBigbelly financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bigbelly leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Bigbelly funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bigbelly M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bigbelly
What does Bigbelly do?
Bigbelly designs, manufactures, and sells solar-powered smart waste and recycling bins equipped with IoT sensors and compaction technology, delivering up to 5x the capacity of traditional bins. The hardware is paired with the proprietary CLEAN™ cloud-based management software that provides real-time fullness monitoring, collection management, GPS tracking, and analytics for connected bin fleets deployed across public spaces such as municipalities, universities, airports, and transit systems.
Is Bigbelly a public or private company?
Bigbelly is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Bigbelly founded?
Bigbelly was founded in 2003. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Bigbelly based?
Bigbelly is headquartered in Needham, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bigbelly make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Smart Bin Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are CLEAN™ Software Subscription and smart Compost Program.
Who are Bigbelly's main competitors?
CleanRobotics is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Compology, Ecube Labs, Enevo, Nordsense and Sensoneo. Broad incumbents are Republic Services, Waste Management, Inc. and Suez Environnement. Pepperl+Fuchs is listed as an others.
Does Bigbelly have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bigbelly.
What industry is Bigbelly in?
Bigbelly's product category is Smart Waste Management Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSAPAPAM, Waste Management & Smart Sanitation (Facilities). Its NAICS code is 33411.