I don't have much to add to this article from the Globe.

Basically, the city installed a bunch of fancy new trash receptacles along Newbury Street.

The Back Bay Architectural Commission doesn't like them. Too big. Too industrial-looking. Too ... green.

"Here you have this historic street with historic streetlights and furniture, and then you have this ... thing," said Harry Moraitis, a commission member who described them as big, squat refrigerators. "We're just trying to make it look more appropriate to the neighborhood."

The funny part is the manufacturer's response:

"It's like having a historic-looking rocket ship. This is a solar-powered mechanical device," said Jack Kutner, senior vice president at Seahorse Power Co., the Needham company that created the BigBelly Cordless Compaction System.

"Whether that's going to make it look like something Ben Franklin would want to throw his trash into, I don't know," Kutner said.

Haha. Mr. Kutner, you'd better pay attention to this, or your company is gonna be out some serious dough.

Source: Back Bay throws out a challenge - By Matt Viser, The Boston Globe