Getting on top of the waste management brief
From all municipal waste management professionals, right down to individual members of refuse collection and cleansing teams, everyone needs to be on top of their brief. For those with high-level managerial responsibilities, anticipating recurring seasonal events, like Christmas, as well as preparing for significant legislative changes are key points of focus.
As we enter the last quarter of 2024 and look to 2025 and beyond it looks set to be a very busy time, as there is quite a bit in the pipeline.
Seasonal events
With Christmas now on everyone’s radar, providing capacity for extra waste as well as altering collection round schedules to fit with public holidays are important considerations which require detailed planning.
The seasonal surge of waste includes online delivery cartons, gift wrap, product and food packaging, as well as discarded food. Factors such as a greater workload at a time of more demand for annual leave, increased food waste contamination of recycling streams, as well as the potential for bad weather to create disruption, all add to the complexity.
Garden waste is a seasonal waste stream that spikes over the growing season, a much longer period. As a paid subscription service, garden waste is characterised by a high degree of variability. This includes properties with multiple bins, and ensuring collections are made from new subscribers, while ceasing services for lapsed subscribers. These all create challenges for scheduling and planning collection routes efficiently.
Simpler Recycling
The introduction of Simpler Recycling is a strategic initiative, a structural change that requires a great deal of thought and detailed preparation. With seven waste streams and their complex collection schedules to be managed, it has the potential to cause more than a few headaches!
But there’s more to it than logistics. For some councils, there are also fleet and infrastructure issues, typically the need for new vehicles and larger depots to accommodate them. For some, fleet electrification is also bound to be in the mix.
Essentially, the advent of Simpler Recycling means councils and their WM partners now have less than 6 months to overhaul systems and processes as well as make modifications to waste collections from businesses. For households the deadline is 12 months later, March 2026.
Be better prepared to meet your challenges
Whitespace produces a suite of integrated modules for municipal waste management that enable effective planning and efficient execution of waste management activities. Most importantly, our technology solutions provide flexibility, enabling greater agility, responsiveness and efficiency.
A good example is for planning and scheduling alterations to collection rounds, and the delivery of new bins ahead of the roll out of Simpler Recycling. Also, you’ll see our Garden Waste Management solution supports collection booking and subscription payments, syncs with job management software used by waste operator teams, and integrates with council CRM systems.
An integrated suite of waste management software modules
Whitespace waste management software consists of a suite of tools designed and built specifically for the delivery of waste management services by LAs and their delivery partners.
- Data Loading Tool – Empowers customers to make mass changes such as changing rounds to different days and introducing new services.
- Tracking – A powerful real-time vehicle tracking tool for showing current and historic vehicle locations using data from vehicle telematics systems such as Webfleet, Masternaut, Fleetclear, or our tracking solution.
- Camera Integration – Capture video of bins that are not correctly presented through integration with vehicle camera systems from a range of providers, including Contel and VisionTechniques.
- Bin Weighing Connector – Centralise information in Whitespace by gathering RFID and weight data to ensure bins match each property or site and monitor the amount being collected. Supports bin weighing systems including Terberg and MOBA.
- Bin Sensor Integration – Identify when council bins in public spaces need to be serviced, and efficiently schedule the job for timely collection.
- BI Gateway – Securely connect your chosen business intelligence (BI) tool like Power BI with Whitespace to obtain extensive reporting capabilities.
- SSO & 2FA – Supports ease of use through existing Single-Sign-On (SSO) and two-factor authentication (2FA) to prevent unauthorised access.
- Route Optimisation Connector – Import and export routes with optimisation solutions and upload to in-cab devices.
Engage and communicate with Whitespace’s Resident Mobile App
Communicating with residents is a critical factor in ensuring the smooth and efficient running of municipal waste management services. This is especially important for supporting proper waste disposal and recycling during the holiday season.
The Whitespace Resident Mobile App offers a more direct method of communication, enabling councils are able to take the practice of communicating with residents to the next level.
Whether it is to remind of collection days, inform of changes to rounds, or provide seasonal information, the app has proved highly successful in reducing missed bin collection rates and improving recycling rates.
The app enables a precise approach, allowing residents in specific streets and areas to receive targeted communication on bin rounds and recycling best practices. It helps to promote more environmentally responsible behaviour within communities, such as combating fly-tipping.
Be better prepared for environmental challenges with Whitespace
Whitespace partners with over 100 local authorities to help deliver efficient, high quality environmental services. To find out more about Whitespace Municipal Waste Management solutions, please get in touch by calling us on +44 (0)1483 231 650 or emailing us at info@whitespacews.com