By Routeware
The benefits of digital transformation in the waste and recycling industry are diverse, from increased productivity and cost savings to attracting and retaining employees. Customer communication and sustainability goals are also major drivers for adoption. Combined, these benefits create a foundation for streamlined operations, happy customers, and serious business growth.
Where to begin? Prioritization of digital tools should start with the most pressing problems you need to solve. These are some of the quickest wins.
#1: The Issue: Printing and Mailing Collection Calendars
The costs of printing, mailing, and paper itself are on the rise. And that beautifully printed calendar your team edited multiple times is likely to end up in the recycling bin. Alternatively, when residents can access聽calendars and collection schedules聽online or via a mobile app, they know they will always have the information they need at their fingertips.
Digital calendar tools are a breeze to set up, and changes can be made in real-time without incurring any additional costs. The savings add up. Austin Resource Recovery聽in Texas saved $66,000 per year when they stopped printing and mailing paper calendars.
#2: The Issue: Back Office Paper Shuffling
Keeping track of vehicle and equipment maintenance, as well as ongoing daily and weekly tasks in the office and shop, is no job for pen and paper. Teams love simple, app-based task managers that allow them to review their assignments for the day, check them off when complete, and add notes鈥攁ll right on their phones.
A shared to-do list reduces unnecessary phone calls and e-mails to staff, increases accountability, and eliminates the need to store binders of paper maintenance logs. Digital task management also simplifies reporting and makes it easier to demonstrate compliance.
#3: The Issue: Recycling Contamination
Residents want to recycle and compost right, but they will often make incorrect assumptions when packaging is confusing or guides are vague. This can lead to聽wishcycling聽and recycling contamination. Online and app-based digital tools provide searchable lists so residents can look up specific items and know exactly where to toss them.
Many municipalities are using the 1-5-50 rule proposed by The Recycling Partnership. This easy-to-follow rule suggests that residents can absorb one idea from a billboard or radio message and five ideas that are presented in person. Long lists of 50 or more items for recycling are best provided on a searchable, online database. Realizing this benefit, savvy fleets are providing digital tools, games, and apps to help customers navigate recycling education.
#4: The Issue: Vehicle and Fuel Costs
Fleet automation and route optimization software target a number of budget-related issues in waste management. It is difficult to invest in new initiatives when the costs of fuel, personnel, and overtime continue to rise. Fortunately, digital route optimization can be done frequently to maximize cost savings. Additionally, onboard digital communications聽help dispatch and drivers work together to be sure routes are completed accurately and on time, while touchless turn-by-turn navigation tools improve safety by helping drivers focus on the road.
The next step in curbing greenhouse gas emissions is a carbon-free fleet. You can free up resources to invest in new vehicles by saving money now on a digital-forward fleet.
In summary, digital technology has a transformative power in making waste management more safe, efficient, and profitable. | WA
Get in touch with our team to learn how Routeware can help your fleet prepare for the future today with digital technology solutions. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit .