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New dumpster camera technology for better waste management

What if smart technology could help you know when your dumpster is full? Better yet, what if that technology could help you optimize your pickup schedule so you’re not paying to empty air from your dumpsters? Think about how many times you’ve been charged for a half-empty pickup—or perhaps worse, you’ve had an overflow of garbage mid-week because your facility produced more garbage than you expected. Adding dumpster camera technology helps you find exactly the right service schedule for your facilities.

Testing new dumpster tech

A few months ago, we started testing camera systems on our commercial waste dumpsters. We monitored how accurately they measure waste volume (they’re pretty accurate!), and we tested whether they actually helped our customers adjust their pickup schedule to be more efficient.

Here’s what we found. After installing Compology camera systems in our dumpsters at several locations, we were able to monitor how much waste was generated in a week and we helped our customers fine-tune their service schedule based on output.

Right sizing with dumpster cameras

The real test was how the system would work during the massive changes brought on by the COVID-19 shutdowns. As we expected, the locations with dumpster camera technology were able to quickly and easily adjust their service schedules in a matter of days, not months.

No one had to physically go out and check dumpsters multiple times a day. No one had to drive out to closed locations to check on waste volume. The cameras not only gave us a view into the dumpster for monitoring and security purposes, they also calculated an estimated waste output without anyone having to guestimate the math to figure out how much waste was being produced. It removed the guesswork from deciding how much to increase or decrease trash pickups.

Having the right number of pickups means no wasted effort, and no burden of unnecessary pickup costs.

Time and cost savings

And we discovered other benefits. We were able to conduct service verification, so we knew whether the dumpsters had been emptied without having to physically visit the location. We could also monitor recycling bins and notify our customers if there were bags of regular trash or other contaminants thrown in with the recycling.

You probably know contamination is a major cause of waste fees when they end up in your recycling bin. In some cases, a hauler won’t even pick up your recycling if they see a lot of regular trash bags or other waste in your bin. Rather than getting charged contamination fees or missing pickups entirely, we were able to monitor the situation and help owners and managers fix the problem before they got charged.

One final bonus we noticed is we helped reduce truck traffic rolling through our customers’ parking lot. By right sizing their waste pickups we prevented unnecessary truck trips. That means fewer alley way blockages and traffic jams around the facility as massive trucks maneuver around the building.

After putting camera technology to the test, we’re proud to offer this service to our customers.

Having cameras on your dumpsters helps you right size your waste pickup schedule, it helps you calculate your actual waste output, and it saves you from unnecessary contamination fees and truck traffic.  

Give us a call to find out how we’re adding Compology dumpster camera technology to our customers’ service plans. Find out how we can help you save with a smart camera system.