One of the largest waste management companies in the Bay Area rolled out new technology recently that caught some customers off guard.
Recology confirmed to SFGATE that the company now has cameras attached to most of its residential trucks in the 11 cities it services in San Mateo County. The new surveillance went into effect on April 15. The cameras automatically take photos of residents’ garbage bins; the photos are then sent to Recology, where an employee reviews them to spot overfull bins.
Once it’s determined a bin is overfull, whether that means the lid is gaping open or extra bags are placed around the receptacle, the customer gets an email, letter or phone call warning. A photo of the overfull bin will accompany the warning notification. Once there have been two warnings, the customer will be charged an additional fee, which can range from $7 to $15 per offense.
The monitoring has already been in effect in many of those places for the past two years for commercial customers, Recology spokesperson Robert Reed said.
“To prevent refuse from spilling onto sidewalks and streets it is important that all properties subscribe to the volume of service they truly need and to keep container lids closed,” Reed told SFGATE.
Reed said the cameras are rolling out in areas outside the Bay Area as well. The cameras may be mounted on trucks in the 11 cities the waste company services in Sonoma County and Marin County and in Auburn. Most cameras will monitor trash cans only, not recycling or compost bins.
San Mateo customers noticed an uptick in calls from Recology about overfull bins, with one popular post on NextDoor wondering if the new technology was powered by artificial intelligence. Reed told SFGATE there is no AI integration with the cameras and that the use of cameras to monitor bins is prevalent in the waste management industry.
In San Francisco, the commercial tracking is in effect and is for trash, recycling and compost.