Contamination in Recycling
QuickCapture helps recycling haulers to easily report violations and contamination observations.
Recycling the Right Way
Recycling is a great way to protect the environment, stimulate the economy, and most directly, benefit the community. Although 94% of Americans are supportive of recycling and practice it daily, a lot of the products that people put in their recycling bins end up in landfills.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 75 percent of the waste produced in the US is recyclable; yet the actual recycling rate is only 34 percent, and the average recycling contamination rate is 25 percent—one in every four items.
Contamination increases the cost of processing recyclables, undermines the good habits of those who practice proper recycling, and degrades the quality of the recyclables. Loads of recycled materials must be thrown away if there are too many contaminants.
Local Government Recycling Efforts
In general, local governments take more responsibility for recycling and are in the best position to sponsor recycling programs for residents and businesses.
Besides making collection plans, recycling staff (e.g., haulers) visit collection sites to discover and document inappropriate waste handling and disposal practices. These observations help program managers evaluate the need for education and ensure that the programs run effectively.
Data Collection with ArcGIS QuickCapture
Recycling collection work is not easy, and it requires multitasking. In addition to operating the mechanical arm that picks up recycling bins, workers must be on the lookout for hazards and document visible contamination issues when necessary. Therefore, ease of use and efficiency have become a priority when evaluating data collection tools.
Capturing Data with a Tap of the Button
ArcGIS QuickCapture offers a rapid data collection experience and makes it easy to capture data and report field observations from moving vehicles—all with minimal user interaction.
Project Overview
Recycling Contamination is a sample project using ArcGIS QuickCapture that is designed to help recycling haulers document improper recycling practices and report violations and contamination issues.
With a tap of the button, a record is captured with geographic information and required data attributes.
Visualize Contamination Reports
Data collected by QuickCapture is sent to ArcGIS immediately and can be visualized by other Esri apps.
The adjacent dashboard app displays captured records of contamination notices by recycling haulers. The map provides a better understanding of the situation and can be used to guide education and promotional programs in the community.
Try it yourself
To get this sample project, follow these steps:
Step 1: Download the QuickCapture mobile app (it's free).
Step 2: Get the sample project.
Tap Continue without signing in on the launch page, and tap BROWSE PROJECTS.
Step 3: Start capturing.
Use ArcGIS QuickCapture to report observations from the field. To see your results, view this dashboard .
Warning: The dashboard is public and submitted observations will be viewable for 7 days (after which they will be automatically hidden).
Case Study | Environment
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Thanks to Christopher Dickerson from Waukesha County WI for his contributions to this sample project.
