The pace of technological progress continues unabated, with the latest developments in AI and machine learning promising exponential growth, exceeding even the templates previously set by Moore’s Law. However, while new digital solutions and tools seem to enter the market every day, their application remains a challenge for businesses looking to solve real-world problems. This is where the concept of digital transformation steps in, providing a strategic and structured approach to the integration of new tech into daily operations.
Today, digital transformation has already made a significant impact on the way businesses operate across every industry and sector, including the waste management industry where technologies such as real-time tracking and comprehensive diversion metrics are delivering new insights into how waste is generated, managed, and processed. But while digital transformation is already charged with the introduction of smart waste management technologies, a new wave of tech is looking to revolutionize the waste management industry and solve some of the most pressing challenges it faces.
This article will look at those challenges and identify how innovation and digital transformation will reshape the waste and recycling industries over the coming years. Read on to learn more.
Current Challenges in the Waste Management Sector
While digital transformation has so far proved an extremely useful tool for waste management companies, there remain several challenges not easily solved by existing advancements. These can be broadly defined in the following ways:
Sustainability
Innovations within sustainability have enabled the waste management industry to tackle some of its most pressing issues—namely, the amount of waste being sent to landfill. However, it is widely recognized that more can be done to improve sustainability across a broad range of different areas. From the improvement of material separation at source through less carbon intensive collection methods to improved recycling systems and more, sustainability remains among the biggest challenges faced by waste management companies, and one that digital transformation hopes to improve.
Efficiency
Closely tied to sustainability is efficiency, and building more efficient waste management systems will enable more sustainable collection and diversion, as well as improving a broad range of other metrics including carbon emissions while also contributing to a more circular economy. Improving efficiency within waste management is a big challenge, and one that takes in every aspect of the chain, from planning collection routes to diverting materials to the correct facilities and beyond.
Compliance
The waste management industry faces increased regulation from numerous areas, including both state and national laws, as well as initiatives such as ESG and B Corp. Whether faced with fast-developing laws designed to improve sustainability or deciding whether to apply for voluntary programs such as those offered by LEED, waste management companies need greater insights into the metrics that allow them to meet the growing compliance standards of today.
Safety
The safety of employees, as well as that of customers and the general public, must be a priority for a successful waste management company. Safer employees are happier and more productive, while safer operations can reduce insurance and training costs while also improving data collection. However, within an industry that relies heavily on industrial machinery, safety remains a challenge that is not easily solved.
Customer Care
Providing services to customers that actively look to solve the issues they face regarding waste management is a continuous process, with effective communication and, in many cases, collaboration the key to unlocking better waste management systems and processes.
Costs
The inherent costs associated with providing sustainable, safe, and efficient services throughout the entire chain can sometimes seem prohibitive. Managing these costs, while maintaining high services requires strategic planning and innovative cost management solutions.
How Digital Technologies Can Tackle Industry Challenges
Digital transformation gives businesses a process-oriented method of integrating new technologies in a beneficial and practicable way. This ensures that daily operations are made more efficient and, depending on the specific focus of the company, can improve innovation and problem solving across a broad range of areas.
These include:
- Operational Efficiency — New tech can streamline current processes while automating workflows can help reduce errors and enhance efficiency.
- Data-Driven Decision Making — Digital transformation across the entire organization can help drive informed decisions through the collection and analysis of data.
- Customer Experience Enhancement — Digital tools like CRM systems and chatbots can help enable more personalized experiences by answering common customer questions immediately and referring more complex queries to an operator.
- Supply Chain Optimization — Real-time monitoring through digital technologies can enable the optimization of supply chains, delivering immediate insights into conditions, demand fluctuations, and potential disruptions.
- Cost Reduction — Task and process automation, alongside scalable cloud computing solutions, can help reduce costs in numerous areas of waste management operations.
- Collaboration and Communication — Digital communication and collaboration tools can help deliver improved teamwork and productivity, while also providing you with a direct link to customers.
- Compliance and Security — Ensuring compliance with industry regulations and maintaining robust cybersecurity measures is made significantly easier with better data and data parsing tools.
- Sustainability Initiatives — Supporting sustainability efforts by optimizing resource use can be achieved through better digital monitoring and analytics. In addition, as data continues to be collected, waste management companies can design more sustainable systems in line with historical benchmarking that caters to evolving waste generation requirements.
Key Digital Innovations Transforming the Waste Management Sector
While technologies such as cloud computing, data collection and analytics, and comprehensive communication and collaboration tools are already widely used, there are a number of emerging technologies that have the potential to transform the waste management industry.
These include:
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
AI and ML are two of the main drivers of today’s digital transformation in every industry. Not only are they able to provide data parsing on an unprecedented scale, but they can also “learn” and predict future trends, issues, or needs, with AI in waste management already delivering insights that may have previously gone unnoticed.
Internet of Things
Through the introduction of IoT devices within waste management systems, waste management companies can begin tackling a range of different problems. For example, smart bins are already beginning to provide real-time monitoring of elements such as bin capacity, allowing more efficient collection and diversion of materials. This is another technology that is predicted to grow significantly over the coming years, with an expanding array of interconnected sensors and devices looking to provide that much needed link between data and the real-world.
Blockchain
While blockchain is often associated with cryptocurrencies, the underlying technology has numerous benefits for the waste management industry. These include enhanced traceability and transparency, with a decentralized and tamper-resistant ledger ensuring secure and records of each transaction or movement within the waste management chain. This helps in verifying the authenticity of waste disposal, tracking the journey of recycled materials, and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations.
AR and VR
On-the-job training is a mainstay of the waste management industry, however, through the use of augmented reality and virtual reality, waste management companies can deliver new training systems that can help increase safety and efficiency. Both AR and VR have the ability to place employees, and in some cases even customers, in real-world situations that provide tangible educational benefits.
Challenges in Implementing Digital Transformation in Waste Management
While many nascent technologies look to solve some of the most enduring challenges within the waste management industry, the process of digital transformation itself can pose its own.
These include:
- Costs — New technologies can sometimes be cost prohibitive, particularly for smaller companies. This means that any solution integrated should be scalable to the needs of your company.
- Training — Ensuring both staff and customers are able to use any hardware or software introduced may require on-boarding and regular training. As the number of solutions grows, so too may the need for a comprehensive educational program that enables effective and efficient usage of new technologies.
- Data security — The security of data is a persistent issue in any industry, and ensuring your systems are able to prevent data theft and other types of breach is key to building trusting and improving compliance.
- Integration — Different technologies and platforms must be interoperable, or in other words, must be able to communicate and share data with one another. As the market for such solutions continues to expand, it is highly important that this challenge is not overlooked.
Future Trends in Digital Transformation and Waste Management
With the foundations of digital transformation already set, and a number of exciting new technologies beginning to make waves within the industry, the future of waste management is likely to meet many of the challenges it faces today. However, looking further forward, the progression of robotics and machine automation powered by AI systems, as well as data-driven predictive analysis and new, circular products and materials all have the potential to deliver even greater efficiencies and improve sustainability across the waste management and recycling industries.
For more information on how RTS has embraced digital transformation using AI and the IoT, explore our resources section and cases studies, or contact a member of our LEED-accredited staff today.