What Is SmartCan?
At Rezzi, we are problem solvers. No matter the size of the problem, our job is to find the most efficient and effective solution. This philosophy is what the company was founded on, and it continues to guide our decision making to this day.
While our philosophy remains the same, the problems we choose to address have shifted dramatically in the past year. Due to this shift in priorities, our flagship product, SmartCan, has undergone a transformative change in its function. If you’re wondering why, or want to learn more about what SmartCan is today, this post is for you.
You might be familiar with SmartCan as a robotic trash valet. This original conception was similar to a Roomba. It fit on the bottom of a waste bin, and automatically carried it to the curb on pickup day.
This solution provided significant value, but to a limited market. It allowed those who physically struggle with taking out the trash, such as the elderly and disabled, a way to automatically complete this chore.
Unfortunately, outside of this use case, SmartCan had little practical purpose. For the physically capable, its function was a matter of convenience rather than necessity. And although we value convenience, we felt we could set our sights higher.
Waste collection is a unique industry, which is characterized by a variety of distinctive challenges. In many ways, it operates similarly to other utilities such as electricity or water, but with additional logistical concerns unique to waste collection.
It was during the initial development of SmartCan that we first began to learn the many nuances of waste management. We spent quite a bit of time working with waste haulers to perfect our product design, and through this process we learned about the problems and challenges which they face day-to-day.
As we began to understand the industry better, we found that there was significant room for logistical improvement. Haulers are constantly seeking to improve the routing of their trucks, to ensure that trucks are filled to capacity before dumping, and to optimize any other procedures that ensure costs are minimized.
With landfill space decreasing in the Northeast1, steadily increasing disposal fees, and regulation driving haulers to be more stringent on what they report, an opportunity for innovation became clear. We found ourselves in a position to help tackle the nation’s waste generation problem by providing more in-depth information on when and where waste is being generated.
During the testing phase of our robotic trash valet, we equipped it with a weight sensor. Its purpose was to collect data on how much trash is being moved, which would allow us to troubleshoot problems and improve performance. However, as we soon learned, this data is incredibly valuable in and of itself.
Today, SmartCan simply attaches to the base of a waste bin and measures the weight of its contents in real-time. We are now developing SmartCan for this purpose alone. Our belief is that this information holds almost limitless potential for haulers and municipalities alike.
For haulers, SmartCan is a detailed operational tracker. It provides a full view of town-wide waste production, offering invaluable insights for route planning. With SmartCan, it is easy for a truck to make as few stops as possible, while being filled to capacity each time.
SmartCan also enhances a hauler’s ability to earn contracts. The customers of haulers - municipalities and institutions - are all seeking ways to track and reduce their waste. A hauler who can provide this information gains a significant competitive advantage in an industry which typically has very little differentiation between operators.
SmartCan’s waste tracking abilities are also important for municipalities and institutions alike. For these communities, that piece of knowledge allows them to remain compliant with state-level regulation, while decreasing the resources they need to spend on waste audits. SmartCan improves operational efficiency, and can help cut costs in an industry with tight margins.
Furthermore, SmartCan can trigger a reduction in overall waste output by using behavioral comparisons. Electric companies often use these, providing customers with energy bills that compare their usage with their neighbors, motivating them to be more aware of their consumption2.Waste comparisons could work in a similar manner, quantifying waste generation for individual constituents, and incentivizing them to throw away less.
Excited to take part in a revolution in waste collection? While SmartCan is currently in its beta phase, it is expected to release by the end of 2023.
Although SmartCan is not immediately available, we encourage you to reach out to us if our product aligns with your needs. We are open to forging future partnerships and exploring collaboration within the waste collection landscape. Please contact us through this form.
We firmly believe in the power of data, and the potential of SmartCan to provide such data on a massive scale. It holds value for haulers and communities alike, reducing waste generation while increasing revenue for its users. Join us today in the digital future of waste collection - a greener and more cost efficient industry - with SmartCan.
References:
1 “Landfills: We're Running Out of Space.” RoadRunner Recycling, https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/landfills-were-running-out-of-space. Accessed 26 September 2023.
2 “The Potential of Behavioural Interventions for Optimising Energy Use at Home – Analysis - IEA.” International Energy Agency, 4 June 2021, https://www.iea.org/articles/the-potential-of-behavioural-interventions-for-optimising-energy-use-at-home. Accessed 26 September 2023.