The soft side of a hard business

Collecting and processing discarded metal, cardboard, plastic or any other material involves the use of sizable, and usually audible, equipment and machinery. While this machinery may collectively be referred to as recycling technology, the sector’s reliance on less visible software, sensors and apps has played an increasing role in optimizing operations (and contributing profits) to recyclers who invest in such technology.

Connecting the purchasing, collection, processing and shipping operations of recycling companies has been a vital role for software in the sector for several decades.

“Poor systems of record lead to disconnected workflow … [which] makes it difficult to streamline operations,” Gordon Driscoll, co-founder and CEO of New York-based GreenSpark Software, told attendees of the inaugural Scrap Expo in 2022.

GreenSpark says its software can increase efficiency and throughput in a scrap metal operation by offering a single platform covering purchasing, inventory management and sales. At Scrap Expo, Driscoll said disparate systems can lead to inefficiencies and unsatisfactory customer experiences.

Driscoll is again on the roster at Scrap Expo 2023, to be held Sept. 12-13 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Amid all the balers, shears and scrap handlers on display, the inclusion of a session focused on software demonstrates the importance of “quiet” technology to recycling companies large and small.

Last year, Driscoll pointed to costly labor inefficiencies and, thus, added costs, in tasks such as scale house ticketing, financial reconciliations or tracking lost shipments when office technology investments are lacking.

Routing efficiency is another focus of several companies serving the recycling and waste sectors. United States-based Wastequip says its Wasteware cloud-based software offers functionality for the management of waste services and related assets, along with an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) tool.

Via the software, Wastequip says haulers can set up and maintain zones for scheduling service days, enable GPS tracking and service verification and help manage bin deliveries and pickups.

Wasteware also is a communications platform, allowing recyclers and their customers to set up service, schedule maintenance tasks and view service verification. This information, Wastequip says, only allows material collection firms to run their business more efficiently and allows customers access to account-related information.

Ireland-based AMCS has a sizable presence in the recycling industry. Last year, the company launched its AMCS Fleet Maintenance product, which brings together several of its technologies “designed to digitize, automate transform and future-proof business processes.”

Elaine Treacy, global product director at AMCS, adds, “Our goal of transforming the customer experience through enhanced automation is realized with innovations in invoice automation, payment fee charges, recycling inventory management and overfilled container tracking."

The technology is available in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland. “The comprehensive fleet maintenance solution features a workflow-driven user experience that supports easy data capture and delivers insightful analysis [that] empowers customers to manage their equipment, employees shops and resources in real-time,” AMCS says.

A third technology gaining traction in the recycling sector involves placing sensors within collection bins so the bins can be serviced just as they are nearly full. Sometimes placed into the telematics tech category, the technology is designed to prevent the inefficiency of collecting bins that contain more air than material.

“Inflation, rising cost of labor and increasing prices of energy and fuel are only one part of the reason why [the] cost of waste collection and processing is going up," says Slovenia-based Sensoneo.

The company says bin monitoring optimizes collection routes and frequencies, resulting in route reduction costs by at least 30 percent.

Last year, Sensoneo partnered with Urbetrack on a large-scale sensor deployment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. That company is collecting data from Sensoneo sensors located in 2,000 bins.

“As we are collecting very valuable data about bin fullness, the city plans to use them when concluding a new contract for waste collection," Urbetrack CEO Pablo Ader says. "With such data it is possible to switch from fixed collection frequency to a dynamic one, optimizing collection routes and collecting only the bins that are full.”

Recyclers ready to explore if and how these quieter technology products can improve their operations have the luxury of choosing from several vendors to see what the market has to offer.