Norfolk, Virginia, to pilot Rubicon Global technology

The city of Norfolk, Virginia, announced that it has selected Atlanta-based Rubicon Global to deploy a smart city pilot program to improve the residential waste services of their more than 61,000 collection locations.

Starting in July, the city of Norfolk’s Department of Public Works will use the RUBICONSmartCity platform as a pilot program over a 6-month period. The city of Norfolk’s goal is to enhance its municipal solid waste (MSW) and yard waste offerings, both in terms of sustainability and customer service, through the integration of Rubicon’s technology.  

Norfolk is home to more than 247,000 residents in a 66 square-mile area. It is also home to the world’s largest naval base, and it serves as the North American headquarters for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Norfolk has over 60 sanitation vehicles running more than 90 routes per week that service 61,000 locations, all of which will be part of the RUBICONSmartCity launch.

The RUBICONSmartCity platform includes a smartphone loaded with the customized Rubicon application, as well as an on-board computer plug-in device. Both will be placed in the Department of Public Work’s more than 60 collection vehicles. An additional set of on-board plug-in devices will be placed in 10 of Norfolk’s supervisory vehicles. The Rubicon technology will allow for the collection of real-time service confirmations, provide GPS vehicle tracking, and enable documentation of any driver issues or the inability to successfully complete a pickup. The RUBICONSmartCity manager portal will collect all the data and analytics and provide the city route updates, daily reporting and operational insights.

“The city of Norfolk has always prided itself on our sustainability mission and commitment to the environment, and combining that commitment with ways to maximize the value-add of our services to our citizens,” Richard Broad, director of Public Works for the city of Norfolk, says. “We are very excited to begin working with Rubicon Global to implement their smart city solution across our fleet of vehicles, and we look forward to leveraging the findings to the benefit of our great city.”  

“Rubicon Global is remaking the entire landscape of waste and recycling through innovative technology and data analysis that helps cities of all sizes make smarter decisions about waste, recycling and city operations,” Michael Allegretti, chief strategy officer at Rubicon Global, says. “Using RUBICONSmartCity, the city of Norfolk will be able to leverage data pulled from its fleet in real time to plan optimized routes, track vehicle location and confirm service at every location, ensuring that Norfolk continues to realize measurable gains in terms of quality of life, customer service and taxpayer savings.”  

RUBICONSmartCity has been rolled out in more than 30 cities across the U.S., including Atlanta; Columbus, Georgia; Fort Collins, Colorado; Irving, Texas; Montgomery, Alabama; Philadelphia; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Spokane, Washington; Tyler, Texas; and West Memphis, Arkansas.