On-Demand Garbage Collection with NorthWest Refuse & Recycling
NorthWest Refuse & Recycling (NWRR) is a small waste management company based in central Washington state. Their service area includes several growing municipalities, and projections for their area predict the merger of several townships.
Garbage trucks are expensive to purchase, staff and maintain. NWRR wanted to explore the feasibility of servicing a larger population with a fleet of smaller, cheaper vehicles. To them, that meant a more flexible pickup schedule and fewer daily customers per truck. They were also interested in outsourcing their vehicle operations department, to focus exclusively on their core business.
Starling IoT outfitted customers in a test area with sensor- and connectivity-enabled garbage containers. Each garbage container reports to NWRR's company server and dashboard. Customers can link the containers to home wifi, and a simple button on the lid calls the company for pickup on demand. Vehicles are dispatched as needed on optimized routes, and can receive update information on the fly. Demand can be predicted accurately, so maintenance scheduling and shift work aligns best with reality.
NWRR is transforming their business model. Overhead can be reduced by leasing or purchasing smaller vehicles. Staffing decisions are based on real data. Pricing structures are also evolving, allowing customers to be in control of how they are charged. The company is uniquely set up to reap massive benefits from driverless vehicles and robot-friendly operations.
NWRR is in an elite club. Companies across the US have raised over $200m for smart refuse collection. To see how your company can benefit from similar technology, just send us a super-short note!
