The waste management industry has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, shifting from a volume-based business to one focused on resource sustainability and diversion from landfills. Key to this evolution has been the harnessing of data to drive decisions and optimize operations across the waste lifecycle.
The Importance of Understanding Your Waste Stream
Historically, waste collection companies lacked detailed insights into the materials they were managing. Trucks would collect mixed waste and transport it directly to landfills or incinerators, with little transparency about waste composition. However, detailed waste characterization studies have illuminated opportunities within their waste streams, quantifying the amounts of organics, recyclables, and other materials being sent to disposal that could be diverted.
This materials flow data establishes a baseline to benchmark against and identifies problem areas to target for improvement. Progressive waste management companies now regularly conduct these waste audits across their client portfolios to inform program planning and set diversion goals. Quantitative targets drive accountability and provide measurable metrics for the impact of operational changes.
More importantly, quantifying waste unlocks valuable insights. Understanding waste composition at this granular level helps waste companies identify the most profitable materials to capture for resale or recycling. It also pinpoints contamination issues, diluting the value of recoverable commodities.
Armed with hard numbers, managers can implement tactical changes to sorting methods or increase the capture of high-value materials. Over time, data-driven adjustments are compounded to reduce disposal volumes and substantially grow revenue per ton handled, simultaneously increasing landfill diversion while extracting maximum value from excess materials.
Driving Efficiency and Automation Through Data
As waste companies embrace data-driven decision making, their priorities and use cases for technology may differ drastically based on business models.
For instance, traditional waste haulers rely heavily on sensors and algorithms to optimize predefined pickup routes. By monitoring fill levels remotely and planning efficient routes, they drive utilization and savings.
On the other hand, CheckSammy, the world’s largest bulk waste & sustainability operator, leverages data and technology to enable flexible, on-demand service. Their systems focus more on rapid automated dispatch of the nearest available driver once a service request comes in. GPS tracking provides real-time visibility to coordinate the closest driver rather than following fixed paths.
So, while route optimization drives efficiency gains for scheduled pickup models, automated dynamic dispatch and driver coordination unlock the on-demand flexibility companies like CheckSammy specialize in. The optimal use of data and technology varies greatly depending on a waste provider’s business approach.
Empowering Employees as Key Decision-Makers
While investments in automation aim to reduce reliance on human judgment, employee decision-making prowess remains integral in such a dynamically complex industry. As such, today’s waste management leaders recognize the importance of pushing data visibility out across all levels of their workforce. They are arming frontline employees with insights and key performance indicators they need through digitized dashboards, rather than confining information access to executives perched atop traditional command-and-control hierarchies.
Rather than initial sorting, CheckSammy leverages data and analytics for sustainability impact further downstream. As on-demand removal requests come in, AI-based algorithms guide real-time decisions on material transport to optimized recycling and processing facilities. Geographic routing analysis identifies the nearest capable partners to maximize diversion rates for each job.
By tapping localized facility databases and reasoning engines, CheckSammy unlocks additional sustainability potential from clients’ existing waste sorting activities. Their tech-enabled logistics coordination enables materials to get to the right diversion facilities, powered by data on material flows and facility capabilities across North America.
The key is utilizing analytics not only in the sorting phase, but also in optimizing later-stage routing of the sorted streams to further boost recycling, recovery and re-use. CheckSammy’s platform helps bridge the gap between the initial separation and maximized end outcomes.
Reimagining Waste as a Manufacturing Input
The greatest paradigm shift that data transparency enables is the reframing of waste products as valuable manufacturing inputs rather than garbage requiring landfill disposal. Sophisticated waste flow projections allow public sector leaders to assess investments in sorting and processing infrastructure to prepare locally available waste streams for productive use. Manufacturers are then empowered to incorporate these waste-derived materials – once considered externalities – into their designs and production plans.
Sam Scoten, the Co-founder and CEO of CheckSammy, said, “At CheckSammy, we’re pioneering the use of technology like AI and machine learning to bring unprecedented transparency and efficiency to the waste management industry. By leveraging data and analytics through our Sustainability SaaS platform Veridiant, we can help companies precisely quantify their waste streams, identify opportunities for diversion, and track materials to validate circular outcomes and even monetize the material itself.”
Many companies are leading the charge in incorporating recycled content, from consumer brands pledging packaging commitments to construction firms utilizing materials like recycled aggregates. Still, the unreliable availability of waste feedstocks remains a barrier. Here, too, data analytics provide solutions through waste generation forecasts and real-time supply visibility. Platforms can track recovered material outputs from recycling facilities and connect suppliers to manufacturers, facilitating deals and enabling circularity at scale.
Insights Driving Sustainability Success Stories
These waste data capabilities have catalyzed dramatic results for sustainability-focused cities, venues, and companies across industries:
- Starbucks implements smart sensor technology across thousands of stores to optimize food waste collection frequencies, avoiding transportation emissions from unnecessary runs estimated to be over 4,500 metric tons of CO2 each year.
- Construction giant AECOM worked with a company to recycle over 6,500 tons of construction debris into aggregates and other products – with verifiable documentation proving high recycling rates to pursue LEED building certifications.
Waste Companies Must Continually Innovate Through Data
As new technologies emerge, waste management processes risk becoming outdated and suboptimal. However, the data infrastructure now established by CheckSammy creates feedback loops allowing them to measure performance gaps perpetually to inform future optimizations.
While the waste industry may seem staid, it now finds itself poised for the kind of digital transformation seen in sectors like finance and healthcare. Analytics have effectively translated waste from unwanted byproducts into tradable materials, unveiling entirely new circular economic models fueled by AI.
The data foundations built by waste management leaders today set the stage for transformative growth as technology-enabled innovations reshape the sector. Companies capturing the power of data now will be best positioned to capitalize on the coming revolution toward a closed-loop, sustainable future.
The growing data-driven capabilities in waste management present not just an environmental opportunity but also a promising new business frontier waiting to be tapped as technology drives materials efficiency to new heights.
Scoten further states, “Sustainability should no longer be viewed as merely a cost center. The radical transparency data gives into waste streams reveals hidden revenue opportunities. Whether you’re selling once discarded commodities or demonstrating strong ESG performance to stakeholders, analytics-driven waste management translates waste into economic opportunity.”
