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I work in the industry (my family runs a collection operation and I focus my effort on software for waste haulers) and I’ve seen huge variance throughout the co

I work in the industry (my family runs a collection operation and I focus my effort on software for waste haulers) and I’ve seen huge variance throughout the country in how this is handled. As mentioned earlier, some locations operate a dirty MRF (everything is mixed and the recyclables are sorted out) to centralize the process but the issue you run into is how low quality the majority of the materials are once they are separated. Waste generators in this “system” aren’t consciously putting effort into the way recyclable material is handled so you end up of with a high percentage of residual (not recyclable) that gets landfilled. Here in CA, South Tahoe Refuse (STR) uses a modified process that I think solves a lot of that problem. They give their customers durable semi-transparent blue bags to fill with recyclable materials. This is somewhat ceremonial but does certainly aid in the sorting efficiency. The waste generator then places those bags in with the regular garbage and one truck collects it all. At the STR operated MRF, they mechanically separate the blue bags and break them open. The resulting recycling is then hand sorted. From what I’ve seen at their MRF, the diverted material is of much higher quality than materials I’ve seen at “regular” dirty MRFs. I’d personally love to see waste collection return to single container/vehicle or some less impactful method. The current regulations in CA essentially require most locations to run 3 vehicles that collect from 3 different containers at each residence/business since you have to hit a certain level of diversion (keeping materials out of the landfill) that is hard to attain at a dirty MRF. Add to that the CA health code requirements for weekly collection and you can’t just “alternate” collection. The additional fuel consumption, road wear, and other resource demands that result from this multiplication of equipment & travel would be super interesting to research and document. Figuring out a good solution that would allow you to centralize sorting and hit high diversion percentages would result in less pollution/resource demands and potentially lower rates for the waste generators. Also, now everyone else is experiencing my inverse experience to every “garbage collection” article on HN. I’d love to see more innovation, thought, and exploration around the problem of physically collecting garbage and I love when it’s discussed here on HN.

kijin 11y ago
The South Tahoe method looks like a nice compromise between doing everything at the depot, on the one hand, and asking individuals to do everything, on the other. End users shouldn't be burdened with the (increasingly impossible) task of deciding whether a container is made of PS, LDPE, or whatever. All they need to know is that if something is "plasticky", it goes in the blue bag. Money can also act as a nice incentive for people to pay attention. Here in Korea, regular garbage needs to be put in special bags that cost a fixed amount per volume. (Garbage collection services are subsidized with revenue from these bags.) So you can save a decent amount of money by putting bulky plastic bottles and empty cans in the recycle bin instead. This system also encourages people to compost as much as they can.
ZeroGravitas 11y ago
Is the food waste collected separately? Locally we alternate landfill and mixed recycling, but we don't have the high temperature of CA so I guess that helps as well as the food waste (or at least a decent proportion of it) getting collected weekly as a separate stream. Maybe the health code just needs updated? (Relatedly, garbage trucks, like busses, are ideal targets for hybrid-electric drivetrains due to high gas usage, heavy weight, low speed start-stop journeys, and being driven where pollution (including noise) are issues)
- jeddawson 11y ago
  They do seasonal yard waste collection separately from the primary waste stream. When I last visited they only did a small amount of food waste collection since their new processing plant (digester) hasn't been built. Food waste adds in health and odor concerns so they need to build the digester before really expanding that program. Throughout CA and across the US it is very common to offer a separate service for solid waste and organic waste. Certain areas/haulers have been collecting and processing food waste for decades, but the vast majority aren't yet. I completely agree about the need to update the health code to allow for more efficient resource management. A minor change could dramatically impact the annual resource consumption of the hauling industry. Also, YES!! hybrid garbage trucks are certainly on the horizon and will have massive positive impact. Waste Management (wm.com) was working on them at one point around 10 years ago. Now there are several companies working on them. Related to this, I'm working on software that increases the efficiency/density of collection routes as customers subscribe. I feel that the vast majority of waste haulers have allowed their routes to become inefficient and through applying a layer of software/logic at the subscription point we can help them be more profitable and more efficient.

kijin 11y ago

The South Tahoe method looks like a nice compromise between doing everything at the depot, on the one hand, and asking individuals to do everything, on the other. End users shouldn't be burdened with the (increasingly impossible) task of deciding whether a container is made of PS, LDPE, or whatever. All they need to know is that if something is "plasticky", it goes in the blue bag. Money can also act as a nice incentive for people to pay attention. Here in Korea, regular garbage needs to be put in special bags that cost a fixed amount per volume. (Garbage collection services are subsidized with revenue from these bags.) So you can save a decent amount of money by putting bulky plastic bottles and empty cans in the recycle bin instead. This system also encourages people to compost as much as they can.

ZeroGravitas 11y ago

Is the food waste collected separately? Locally we alternate landfill and mixed recycling, but we don't have the high temperature of CA so I guess that helps as well as the food waste (or at least a decent proportion of it) getting collected weekly as a separate stream. Maybe the health code just needs updated? (Relatedly, garbage trucks, like busses, are ideal targets for hybrid-electric drivetrains due to high gas usage, heavy weight, low speed start-stop journeys, and being driven where pollution (including noise) are issues)

jeddawson 11y ago
They do seasonal yard waste collection separately from the primary waste stream. When I last visited they only did a small amount of food waste collection since their new processing plant (digester) hasn't been built. Food waste adds in health and odor concerns so they need to build the digester before really expanding that program. Throughout CA and across the US it is very common to offer a separate service for solid waste and organic waste. Certain areas/haulers have been collecting and processing food waste for decades, but the vast majority aren't yet. I completely agree about the need to update the health code to allow for more efficient resource management. A minor change could dramatically impact the annual resource consumption of the hauling industry. Also, YES!! hybrid garbage trucks are certainly on the horizon and will have massive positive impact. Waste Management (wm.com) was working on them at one point around 10 years ago. Now there are several companies working on them. Related to this, I'm working on software that increases the efficiency/density of collection routes as customers subscribe. I feel that the vast majority of waste haulers have allowed their routes to become inefficient and through applying a layer of software/logic at the subscription point we can help them be more profitable and more efficient.