A summary of Zabble's AI object detection models development process and how we use industry metrics and benchmarks to develop, test and evaluate our AI systems.
Zabble recently hosted a webinar with the US EPA, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, The Recycling Partnership and York County, Virginia to share the results of an EPA-funded cart tagging initiative across six Hampton Roads communities.
Watch a recording of highlights from the webinar below, or keep reading for a full overview of this project:
The Challenge
Hampton Roads, Virginia spans 17 jurisdictions, 18 military installations and has a highly transient population, making consistent recycling education a significant challenge. Prior to this cart tagging exercise, contamination rates varied across communities, and the region lacked granular, address-level data to understand where problems were concentrated and why.
The Approach
Over 8 weeks, The Recycling Partnership executed a structured “Feet on the Street” cart tagging program across 32,000+ households in 6 communities, powered by Zabble’s Mobile Tagging platform. Inspectors conducted lid flips using the mobile app to navigate addresses on a map and Zabble’s AI to identify contaminants in real-time. They left cart tags (“Warning” and “Rejection”) based on the contamination and past history to educate residents. Program supervisors maintained full-visibility into operations, tracking hourly progress, participation and contamination rates in real-time through a centralized dashboard.
As Taylor Sorenson of The Recycling Partnership noted during the webinar: “We’ve seen that a combination of cart tags, a postcard and service rejection reduces contamination between 19% and 62% in communities across the country.”
The Results
59,000+ cart inspections completed across 6 communities
Most residents corrected their behavior after just one warning tag
Average 36% reduction in tagging occurrences region-wide
Average 32% reduction in contamination in individual communities
Beyond the numbers, one of the most impactful outcomes came from improved resident engagement. When residents called to ask why their carts were tagged, Zabble’s address-level lookup tool enabled staff to provide clear, specific feedback, turning potential complaints into education moments.
The Hampton Roads initiative reinforces a simple truth: cart tagging works when backed by the right behavioral insights, technology and execution.
As an EPA SBIR-funded technology company, Zabble was proud to serve as the technology backbone of this EPA-funded initiative. If reducing contamination is a priority for your jurisdiction, we’d love to show you how Zabble supported this initiative and how it could work for your community.
For decades, waste programs have relied on annual audits, spot checks, and hauler reports to understand contamination. While these methods provide occasional snapshots, they leave significant gaps in understanding when, where, and why contamination occurs.
For Oregon jurisdictions, the challenge is clear: how do you effectively track contamination, implement targeted interventions, and prove program effectiveness to access PRO funding—all while managing the day-to-day demands of waste operations?
