The City of Canterbury-Bankstown is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to detect waste contamination. It’s part of a $2.1 million technology-led transformation program, ‘Closing the Loop on Waste’, that is having a measurable and lasting impact on residents, liveability and the environment.

In Canterbury-Bankstown, waste is a big economic and social cost, it accounts for 21% of budget and 30% of resident interactions. Council’s waste contamination rate is also high, 25% compared to the NSW average of 10%. Amid this and the broader waste crisis, Council acknowledged the pivotal role we play in waste education and sustainability.

The project aimed to improve our resident's experience around Council waste services enabling our 365,000 residents to have a seamless waste service experience and to better understand how to recycle right. It will also help reduce the number of waste enquiries to Customer Service each year which currently stands at around 30,000 calls.

The project set out to achieve this through the implementation of a bespoke suite of technology solutions, this included:

• Artificial Intelligence to identify contamination in recycling;
• GPS & GNSS cameras mounted on our full fleet of 19 waste trucks;
• RFID tags in a trial to determine effectiveness in matching a bin to a property;
• Trial of proactive notifications via mobile SMS to notify residents of missed bins, bin spills and street sweeping; and
• The development of a bespoke platform – Loop, which shares real-time information on job requests and status, waste truck live locations, waste collection routes, and customer information between various departments.

While Council is still realising the benefits of the program of this transformative project, it’s clear to see there are significant financial benefits and efficiency gains resulting from the program. Some of these include:

• Improved customer experience through sharing accurate information and educating residents on waste management behaviours;
• Increased visibility of contamination in recycling bins – what once took 5 years now takes 14 days;
• Positive response from residents on the use of proactive notifications to keep them in the loop;
• Improved safety and situational awareness for truck drivers who now have a 180 degree view of surroundings; and
• Efficient waste operation services by addressing issues such as missed streets faster.

To read more about the Closing the Loop on Waste project, click below to access the full Case Study.​​

Case Study

Keep in the loop here with the latest updates on this project:

• Smart Cities News: "Australian city lays the groundwork for national digital waste management system"
• Smart Cities Collaboration Platform: Project Summary
• Media Release: "CBCity awarded $1million to continue smart waste management"