Testing, testing,... are you reading me?
That's what your trash can might be thinking as Prince George has decided to improve its garbage collection by tagging radio frequency identification (RFID) to carts throughout the city.
The goal of this new modern installment is to gain efficient customer service by tracking broken, overflowing, or missing garbage cans as there are over 23,000 residential bins to look after.
City crews began installing the RFIDs this week, free of charge, and will continue to do so until July 15.
Once they are on the trash can, the tag will not change how residents choose to use their carts or alter the way they're put out on the curb on collection days.
According to a City release, the all-around benefits to these new RFIDs are fourfold:
- Helping increase collection route efficiency by helping staff to pre-plan through routes more effectively
- Improving route efficiencies, which reduces operational costs as well as the city's carbon footprint by lessening fuel consumption
- Making sure no garbage cart is missed on collection day as missed carts will send a signal to staff indicating they were not collected as scheduled
- Helping keep recyclables out of landfills by working with the existing camera system aboard each garbage collection vehicle to pinpoint households that are disposing of improper products
But don't worry, all information collected is set to stored on a secure server.
The City says any captured personal info, including people or vehicles, will be blurred to ensure privacy.
The funding for the RFIDs is coming out of Prince George's Capital Expenditure Plan; it costs $10 per tag per cart and $65 for a mid-sized trash can.
