RTS successfully maintained waste and recycling services for Mendham Township despite a 20% surge in residential waste by re-optimizing and expanding truck routes to ensure full community coverage. RTS also launched a customized resident portal, providing real-time collection updates and easy access to essential service information for the community.
RTS in Action
Keeping Mendham Township Clean and Connected During a Crisis
Problem
In early March, COVID-19 began to impact the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and residential trash and recycling tonnage increased by nearly 20 percent as a result of people working from home. This included RTS partner, Mendham Township in New Jersey.
Additionally, Mendham Township required its trash and recycling provider to run a labeling program, whereby residents purchase stickers to place on their trash bags. Traditionally, stickers were only available at a local store, but social distancing guidelines made purchasing stickers difficult.
Customized + Adaptable Services
With the increase in residential waste and recycling volumes, RTS quickly mobilized to re-optimize truck routes and add additional routes at no charge to ensure full coverage and that the community remained clean and safe. A full staff remained throughout the crisis for hauler and resident safety while aligning with township officials every step of the way.
As an extra precaution, RTS created an online ordering system for stickers, allowing residents to continue to observe stay-at-home mandates. Due to USPS delays, RTS also offered residents at-home sticker delivery.
All the while, our dedicated online portal for Mendham Township, originally created for residents to view waste and recycling information, continued to provide up-to-date notices to ensure quick and easy access to information regarding trash collection.
Diversion Reporting
Since diversion tracking was an essential part of the challenge, RTS’s tracking system was able to confirm recyclables and organics reached the proper facilities and report on diversion efforts. RTS also provided insight when material streams may have been contaminated to improve internal processes to increase diversion.
On-Demand Support
In addition to scheduled services, RTS provided on-demand pickups for unanticipated material that had an opportunity to be recycled and further diversion efforts.
The Result
Rapid Response Keeps Mendham Township Running Smoothly
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