Two local environmental projects have received grant funding from Dominion Resources. Park Partners Inc. of Gloucester received a grant of $10,000 and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science received $25,000.

The Park Partners grant will be used to install three or four Big Belly waste stations at Gloucester Point Beach. Gloucester Parks Superintendent Patti McGrath said she hopes to purchase two compactor units and two non-compactor units.

Both types of solar-powered units will send an e-mail to the appropriate person when the unit is full. McGrath said a weight sensor on the units do not let them collect over 40 pounds of trash. “The barrels we have now can weigh up to 70 pounds, making them difficult to deal with,” she said.

McGrath, who applied for the Dominion grant, said the compacting units can collect three times more trash. “It will be a lot more efficient,” she said. “They save energy, save time and save money. I would like to have more of th...