Waste World

AI is booming and the waste and recycling industry is beginning to see where AI can deliver real, measurable value. From improving fleet safety and operational efficiency to enhancing material sorting and consumer engagement, AI-powered technologies are reshaping how waste is collected, processed, and managed. This week’s episode of the Waste World podcast features a WasteExpo 2025 session titled, “AI-Powered Waste Solutions: A New Era of Efficiency and Safety” explored how these emerging tools are being deployed today—and what they mean for the future of industry operations.

The session was moderated by Sara Fuentes, founder and president of SmartWaste Inc., and featured a panel of technology leaders working across safety systems, robotics, data, and AI-driven decision-making. Panelists included Stevan Mikha, CTO of Prairie Robotics; Brian Sano, head of strategy at Intuitive AI; Tamey McIntosh, president of Global Sensor Systems; and Samantha Podgorny, digital product manager at Environmental Solutions Group. Together, the group brought perspectives spanning fleet operations, sensor-based safety technology, robotics, material sorting, and real-world AI implementation across municipal and commercial environments.

The panel examined how AI is being applied to key operational areas, including fleet and driver safety, computer vision and sensor technology, automated braking systems, robotics for material handling, and data-driven decision-making. The conversation also addressed challenges such as data quality, workforce adoption, scalability, and balancing automation with human oversight. Additionally, the speakers offered practical insights into where AI is delivering results today, how organizations can future-proof their operations, and why safety and efficiency must evolve together as the industry enters a new era of innovation.

On this episode of Waste World, Gage brings Andrew Johnston, Vice President of Industrials at Divert, on the show for an in-depth conversation on how Divert is scaling industrial food waste solutions nationwide. Johnston brings a blend of engineering expertise and commercial strategy to one of the most complex areas of wasted food infrastructure, and this episode explores what it really takes to build a future-ready system.

Andrew leads Divert’s industrials division, where he oversees facility development, logistics, commercialization, and large-scale industrial partnerships across the entire food value chain. With tons of experience guiding companies through growth, technology deployment, and operational efficiency, he has helped commercialize major anaerobic digestion projects and advance new models for food waste diversion. His multidisciplinary background, spanning engineering, market strategy, and systems thinking, shapes the way Divert designs flexible, scalable facilities and supports partners ranging from manufacturers to distribution hubs and logistics terminals.

During the conversation, Andrew breaks down the intricacies of operating industrial food waste facilities at a national scale, from the engineering behind anaerobic digestion to the coordination required across logistics, operations, and commercial teams. He shares how Divert balances feedstock volatility, why industrial partnerships must “play lightly with ideas,” and how the company positions facilities to local market conditions. Andrew also offers insights into emerging demand for end products like soil amendments, how customers are pursuing capital and operational efficiencies, and why a radically integrated national network will define the next decade of wasted food infrastructure.

In this episode of the Waste World Podcast, Gage Edwards chats with Ben Kuethe Oaks, VP and GM of Retail at Divert, to explore how one of the country’s fastest-growing food waste technology companies is reshaping the retail landscape. With more than 7,500 grocery locations using Divert’s programs today, Ben walks through how retailers are rethinking waste, the operational challenges they face inside busy stores, and why better data is becoming essential to both financial performance and sustainability goals.

Ben has been with Divert since 2016 and has played a major role in building the company’s solutions and success teams, now the backbone of its work with large national and regional retailers. His background in wasted food diversion, grocery operations, and early anaerobic digestion projects informs the practical, on-the-ground perspective he brings to the conversation. Ben’s understanding of how retailers make decisions, from the store floor to the corporate office, shapes how Divert designs programs that fit real behaviors, real constraints, and real business needs.

In this episode, Ben digs into what’s actually happening in grocery stores today, including the culture shifts required to change habits, the importance of pairing technology with simple processes, and how better insights into shrink and diversion help retailers reduce costs and improve efficiency. Ben also discusses the challenges of scaling programs across thousands of locations, the evolution of reverse logistics, the impact of new infrastructure, and why the industry is moving toward deeper measurement of organic waste. 

Be sure to subscribe to the Waste World podcast on Spotify or other podcasting services. Additionally, check out the video version of the podcast on WasteExpo’s YouTube channel.

In this episode of the Waste World Podcast, Gage Edwards is joined by Spencer Williams, CEO and founder of West Paw, a Montana-based pet products company redefining what circularity looks like in the pet industry. The podcast explores the massive volume of pet product waste entering U.S. landfills each year, the misconceptions consumers have about pet toy durability and recyclability, and why the pet category has long been overlooked in the broader sustainability discussions. 

Williams brings nearly three decades of hands-on manufacturing and materials innovation to the table. Raised on a Montana ranch and driven by a desire to create tangible, meaningful products, he built West Paw around domestic manufacturing, material transparency, and long-term environmental stewardship. Today, the company produces safe, durable dog toys using its proprietary recyclable material, Zogoflex, alongside the newer Seaflex line made with reclaimed ocean-bound plastic. Under his leadership, West Paw has kept roughly 100,000 pounds of plastic in circulation each year through its Join the Loop take-back and remanufacturing program, a fully closed-loop system designed and executed entirely in-house.

Throughout the episode, Williams breaks down how West Paw’s recycling process works, what it takes to design a truly circular product, and why owning the supply chain has insulated the company from tariffs and global volatility. He also digs into the chemistry behind Zogoflex, how the team integrates ocean-bound plastic into Seaflex, and why single-material design is essential for real recyclability.

From fast fashion to single-use seasonal clothing, millions of garments are produced, purchased, and discarded at a pace our waste systems simply can’t handle. In this episode of the Waste World podcast, Gage Edwards is joined by Lexy Silverstein to dig into the realities behind the clothes we wear, what happens to them after we’re finished, and why it is essential for consumers to act sustainably when considering clothes. This conversation explores what it will take to shift our culture away from disposable fashion and toward systems built on longevity, circularity, and responsibility.

Silverstein is a leading sustainable fashion advocate, content creator, and educator who has built her platform around pushing back against fast fashion culture and creating accessible, community-driven solutions. She has launched textile reuse and costume redistribution programs on both coasts, partnering with Heal the Bay in Los Angeles and Clinical Associates in Maryland to keep clothing and Halloween costumes in circulation and out of the waste stream. Through her advocacy, storytelling, and hands-on projects, Lexy challenges consumers, brands, and institutions to rethink their relationship with clothing and to consider the environmental and social costs hidden behind cheap, disposable garments.

In this episode, Silverstein breaks down the root causes of textile waste, from micro-trend culture to the rapid acceleration of low-quality, high-volume production. She talks about the limitations of current recycling systems, why circularity requires collaboration across sectors, and how simple consumer actions can add up to meaningful change. This episode also looks back at her post-Halloween insights, the early results of her dual-coast donation programs, and what she believes needs to happen, both culturally and structurally, for the fashion industry to adopt more responsible production practices. 

On this episode of The Waste World Podcast, Gage Edwards chats with Joe DiNardi-Mack, CEO and Co-Founder of Sourgum, also known as “the Amazon of waste and recycling.” The podcast explores how the waste and recycling industry can modernize without losing its operational roots. Joe breaks down the challenges of fragmentation, the struggle with contamination, and what technology (including AI and machine learning) can solve today. From real-time data visibility to simplifying waste management for businesses across the country, Sourgum is rethinking how people and companies interact with recycling.

DiNardi-Mack is a fourth-generation waste industry professional, his family has operated hauling companies since 1897, and DiNardi-Mack himself has worked almost every operational job you can imagine. After briefly stepping away from the industry to work in tech and learn full-stack development, he came back realizing that waste lacked the modern tools other industries already have. Sourgum now partners with 5,000+ vetted haulers nationwide, giving companies a digital operating system for every pickup, every container, and every material stream.

This episode digs into some of the most pressing topics in waste and recycling: how a lack of customer education fuels contamination, why AI won’t replace people doing the work, and how better data can reduce hauling costs and unnecessary trips. DiNardi-Mack explains how Sourgum uses image recognition to show customers their real contamination issues and how the platform has helped companies reduce waste costs by 25% through better training and streamlining material sorting. He also talks about policy and market forces, including EPR and shifting recycling regulations and how tech platforms can adapt haulers to new opportunities instead of working against them. 

Be sure to subscribe to the Waste World podcast on Spotify and other podcast services. Also, leave a review and share the show! For more news, interviews, and stories from the waste and recycling industry, visit Waste360.com

In this episode of the Waste World Podcast, Gage Edwards chats with Michael Marmo, CEO of CurbWaste, to discuss how AI is reshaping operations for independent waste haulers. As the industry faces increasing regulatory pressure, rising costs, and the push for digital compliance, AI is emerging as a powerful tool to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance service.

Marmo brings a unique perspective to how technology can modernize a historically analog industry. Under his leadership, CurbWaste has grown rapidly, helping more than 150 haulers streamline routing, billing, and compliance through data-driven insights. With a background rooted in both operations and technology, Marmo bridges the gap between the field and the software driving the future of waste management.

In this episode, Marmo unpacks the practical applications of AI already delivering measurable value, the misconceptions that still cloud adoption, and what small and mid-sized haulers can do to stay competitive as technology evolves. The episode also touches on CurbWaste’s Series B announcement and how investment in innovation will continue to drive industry-wide transformation.

This episode of the Waste World Podcast, Gage Edwards explores how leading waste and recycling companies are addressing the growing global challenge of electronic waste. He examines efforts by organizations such as Blancco Technology Group, ERI, Redwood Materials, MBA Polymers, Upcycle USA, CWG, and Call2Recycle to build a more circular electronics economy. 

Gage highlights innovations in secure data erasure, large-scale IT asset disposition, lithium-ion battery recovery, and plastics recycling, as well as initiatives that expand access to responsible e-waste collection. 

This episode of the Waste World podcast revisits the panel discussion “Battery Risk Management in the Waste Stream: Detection and Communication Tactics,” where industry experts tackled one of the most urgent safety challenges facing the waste and recycling sector—battery-related fires. The conversation examined how batteries can be identified and managed throughout the waste stream, from curbside collection to material recovery facilities (MRFs).

Panelists included Edel Rodriguez, Vice President of Sales at STEINERT; Jeff Snyder, Senior Vice President of Recycling & Sustainability at Rumpke Waste & Recycling; Kirk Sander, SVP & Chief of Safety & Standards at the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA); Genevieve O’Sullivan, Chief of Communications at NWRA; and Penny Lane Case, CEO of Nexstera Tech.

Together, they shared innovative detection technologies, real-world mitigation strategies, and research-backed communication approaches to help reduce the number of batteries entering the waste stream. Their discussion offered valuable insights for improving safety, strengthening public education, and minimizing fire risks across the industry.

At WasteExpo 2025 in Las Vegas, attendees heard from Patrick Dovigi, Founder, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at GFL Environmental, in a deep dive conversation led by Michael E. Hoffman, President and CEO of the National Waste & Recycling Association.

Dovigi shared the story of how he built GFL into the fourth-largest environmental services company in North America, reflecting on his vision to create a true “one-stop shop” for environmental solutions. The discussion also explored the entrepreneurial culture he has fostered within GFL’s leadership team, as well as the company’s core values of operational excellence, sustainability, and safety.

He also addressed opportunities and challenges facing the industry today, offering insight into how GFL continues to grow both holistically and through acquisitions while staying focused on long-term success. As a 2017 Waste360 40 Under 40 Award Winner, Dovigi’s perspective provided attendees with a unique look at what it takes to lead and succeed in the evolving waste and recycling sector.

Be sure to subscribe to the Waste World podcast on Spotify or other podcast services for new episodes each week.