Recycling & Waste Management

Part of the worlds-biggest-software-project initiative.

An open-source, AI-native platform that unifies collection routing, material tracking, regulatory compliance, and billing for waste haulers, recycling processors, and municipal authorities.

Waste and recycling operations depend on tightly coordinated field logistics, accurate material accounting, and jurisdiction-specific regulatory reporting. Today these functions are served exclusively by proprietary SaaS platforms that are expensive, siloed, and difficult to integrate. This project delivers a unified open-source alternative that connects route planning, weighbridge data, compliance documents, and invoicing in a single system -- with AI capabilities that improve routing and contamination detection over time.

Why Recycling & Waste Management?

No open-source alternative exists. Every comparable platform (AMCS, Rubicon, CurbWaste, Wastebits, Routeware, Starlight) is commercial SaaS with proprietary licences. Operators have zero leverage over pricing, data portability, or feature direction.
Enterprise platforms are cost-prohibitive for small operators. Independent haulers with 1--10 trucks cannot justify the cost of platforms like AMCS, which require professional services for initial configuration and ongoing customisation.
Compliance rules vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Existing tools hard-code regulatory workflows or require expensive per-jurisdiction configuration. An open, configurable compliance engine would let communities and regulators contribute rule sets directly.
Data lock-in blocks regulatory reporting. Users across multiple platforms report difficulty extracting operational data for statutory submissions without vendor assistance, creating unnecessary dependency and cost.
AI capabilities remain shallow. While vendors market "AI-powered" route optimisation, most still rely on rule-based VRP solvers. No platform offers ML-based contamination detection, automated compliance document generation, or dynamic pricing tied to live commodity markets.

Key Features

Route Planning & Fleet Operations

Automatic generation of efficient collection routes considering vehicle capacity, stop frequency, time windows, and road restrictions
Real-time driver guidance via mobile app with missed-stop recording and supervisor fleet visibility
Dynamic route management with live edits that propagate instantly to drivers
GPS and telematics integration from mixed hardware (Geotab, Samsara, manufacturer systems) into a unified operations view
Offline-capable mobile app that syncs completed stops and exceptions when connectivity is restored

Material Tracking & Weighbridge

Recording of material type, weight, and quality grade at each collection stop and at processing facilities
Weighbridge integration with electronic weigh-ticket generation via hardware-specific adapters (serial, TCP/IP)
Discrepancy alerts for over- or under-weight loads
Multi-material reconciliation supporting variable pricing per stream based on commodity market rates

Compliance & Regulatory Reporting

Generation of waste-transfer notes, hazardous waste manifests, and diversion-rate reports
EPA e-Manifest integration for US hazardous waste shipments using the publicly available USEPA schema
Configurable compliance rules by jurisdiction (state, county, country)
Contamination recording with photo capture, ML classification, and customer notification

Customer Management & Billing

Service agreements specifying collection frequency, container sizes, material streams, and contract rates
Weight-based, volume-based, or flat-rate billing across residential, commercial, and roll-off customers
Exception charges for contaminated loads with AI-assisted review and adjustment proposals
QuickBooks and accounting system integration

Analytics & Sustainability

Landfill diversion rates, material recovery rates, and route efficiency metrics
Per-stop and per-route carbon footprint calculation
Customer-level sustainability reporting and ESG dashboards
Demand forecasting to optimise fleet deployment and MRF capacity planning

AI-Native Advantage

This platform replaces rule-based vehicle routing with reinforcement learning that adapts to actual traffic patterns, stop duration variance, and seasonal demand. ML models classify bin photos at point of collection to automatically detect contamination, generate reports, and notify customers -- a capability requested across the industry but minimally addressed by incumbents. LLM-assisted generation of waste transfer notes and regulatory manifests from structured operational data reduces compliance overhead, while AI-driven billing exception handling reviews anomalous loads and proposes adjustments with supporting evidence.

Tech Stack & Deployment

The platform targets self-hosted and cloud deployment. Mobile apps for drivers run on iOS and Android with offline-first architecture for areas with poor cellular coverage. Weighbridge integration uses hardware-specific adapters over serial and TCP/IP protocols. The system integrates with the EPA e-Manifest API (RCRA system) and the UK Waste Services API standard, both publicly available under open licences. REST APIs expose core operational data for third-party integration. Telematics integration is hardware-agnostic, supporting Geotab, Samsara, and manufacturer-native systems.

Market Context

The waste and recycling software market encompasses enterprise platforms (AMCS, Rubicon) serving large haulers and municipalities, alongside cloud-native tools (CurbWaste, Starlight) targeting smaller operators. All identified solutions are commercial SaaS with opaque pricing; enterprise platforms typically require professional services engagements for deployment and configuration. Primary buyers are municipal waste authorities, mid-size haulers (10--100 trucks), and material recovery facilities. Independent haulers with small fleets represent a large, underserved segment priced out of existing solutions.

Project Status

This project is in the research and specification phase. Contributions, feedback, and domain expertise are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, domain experts, and potential users. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Important: All contributions must be your own original work or clearly attributed open-source material with a compatible licence. Copyright infringement and licence violations will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal of the offending contribution. If you are unsure whether a piece of code, text, or other material is safe to contribute, open an issue and ask before submitting.

Licence

Licence to be determined. See discussion for context.