Earth911 Podcast: Compology's Jason Gates on Waste Monitoring and Reduction

Jason Gates, CEO of Compology, is taking the recycling battle to the dumpster. Compology makes AI-powered smart cameras that monitor how full dumpsters are and help understand and manage what they contain — the process reduces unnecessary pickups, which lowers fuel waste, and improves the processing of the contents of each bin. There’s no question the current economy is wasteful, but the challenge remains to figure out where that waste is located and how to reduce it, recycle it and return it to use without cutting down more trees, mining more raw ore or other extractive activities. Compology tracks the bin over time to provide the first end-to-end waste monitoring for business, including advice delivered through its app. These tools let companies and government organizations plan their production, manage waste to reduce contamination and help them meet their sustainability goals. Compology may also have the solution for large landlords who want to implement recycling systems for apartment complexes and other facilities that rely on private haulers to remove and recycle waste.

Jason explains how Compology cameras work, the six types of contamination they can spot and how the bin user gets alerts. For example, uncompacted cardboard boxes take up space, leading to more pickups than necessary. In the future, the system could also track food waste and help divert it to composting programs. We also discuss the security and privacy benefits of monitoring waste to prevent confidential data from being exposed. When tracked in detail, the economy can be optimized and we would not simply reduce waste, but route it back for recycling or reuse. Learn more about Compology at https://compology.com/.