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Waste Management tells Anacortes council organics diversion up, Smart Truck cameras to aid contamination enforcement
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Summary
Waste Management reported nearly 4,750 tons diverted in 2025, with Anacortes residents contributing more than 2,600 tons of organics; WM described Smart Truck 360'degree cameras to improve safety, track contamination and support targeted education and a potential contamination charge in a forthcoming contract.
Waste Management representatives presented their 2025 annual report to the Anacortes City Council on March 23, describing service highlights, contamination-reduction efforts and technologies proposed for a forthcoming contract renewal.
Robin Friedman, WM'Senior Manager for Public Sector Services, and district manager Chris Clark reviewed service statistics and operational innovations. "We were successfully able to service both curbside recycling and compost to over 11,000 customers," Clark said, and the team reported nearly 4,750 tons of material diverted in 2025, with residents diverting more than 2,600 tons of organics.
Grace Fletcher, WM'education and outreach coordinator, described targeted education: WM sends recycling education letters to multifamily managers and contacts residential accounts that have three or more contamination events in a quarter. "Each quarter, I receive a report back from our drivers on which residents had those 3 or more contamination incidents, and I go into their account and contact them via phone," Fletcher said.
WM also described a "Smart Truck" system: a 360'degree camera network and GPS that captures images of material entering truck hoppers, which WM says can identify contamination trends by route or customer and help target technical assistance. Robin Friedman said the city and customers would have access to imagery to support fair auditing and, where appropriate, contamination charges: "These images that we capture allow us to really look at contamination ... and then it gives us a really good understanding of how we can provide technical assistance to customers through education and outreach."
Council members asked how outreach is delivered (phone and email) and whether oops-tags are used for blatant contamination; WM said drivers will use tags in obvious cases but rely primarily on Smart Truck data to identify repeat issues and to avoid unsafe driver behavior. Council and staff noted WM'city cooperation in preparing for a new five-year contract coming before the council in two weeks.
The report included operational changes such as accepting paper and plastic cups in curbside recycling and using DataFi and Smith Travel Research reporting for lodging and visitor analytics. The council thanked WM for educational and outreach work and indicated interest in collaboration to reduce contamination citywide.
The council took no immediate contractual action at the presentation; the city will consider WM's annual report in the context of the upcoming contract decision.
