Are you recycling the right things? New cameras, tech will let you know
The city of Olympia is launching a recycling contamination reduction project this month to help people improve their recycling efforts. It will use cameras and other technology to monitor what people are putting into their curbside recycling carts.
According to a May 5 news release from the city, the city will use global positioning systems, computers and cameras on city recycling trucks to check the contents of curbside recycling carts and provide residents feedback, household by household.
The goal is to help 6,000 households keep non-recyclable items out of the bins.
The project is being done in partnership with the Washington State Department of Ecology, The Recycling Partnership, and Saskatchewan-based Canadian cleantech startup Prairie Robotics.
Selected households will receive an initial postcard in the mail about the upcoming project with reminders about accepted materials and top contaminants, according to the news release.
Kim Johnson, residential educator for the city, said in the news release she believes Olympia customers are committed to recycling but may need some clarification on what can and can’t be recycled.
You can learn more about what can be recycled in Olympia on the city’s website.
The project is a high-tech version of The Recycling Partnership’s “Feet on the Street” cart tagging recycling program, an initiative to improve the quality of recycling in curbside recycling carts by giving residents feedback and educating them.
Instead of a real person reviewing the contents of a recycling cart as the Feet on the Street does, Prairie Robotics will retrofit the city’s recycling collection trucks with camera technology, according to the city.
Material that is being mechanically dumped into the truck will be scanned and items that aren’t accepted are flagged. These might include plastic bags, polystyrene foam, yard waste and trash. The person who recycled the items is then notified, with information on how to recycle better.
Olympia is among a small number of Washington communities trying out the new technology for a recycling project. The cities of Sequim and Renton also have implemented similar projects.
The Olympia project is being funded by the Department of Ecology’s Recycle Right campaign.
This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 11:01 AM.
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