The City of Casey has found a modern solution to its recycling contamination problem in the form of Bin it Right – a waste management app hailed by residents.
In the digital age, technology is ubiquitous and its applications are nearly boundless. Accessible online resources and platforms are making it easier than ever for organisations and communities to use these tools to solve problems.
The City of Casey, located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, has a history of successfully using technology, particularly to address and promote sustainable practices.
“Our primary channels for keeping our residents informed are our Annual Waste Guide and the 4000-member ‘Green Living in Casey’ Facebook group,” says Kathy Zu, Recycling Education Officer at the City of Casey.
“We also deliver a robust education program featuring ‘Recycle Right’ sessions for schools, retirement homes, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and other groups.
“We maintain e-waste stations across the municipality for those hard-to-recycle items and are constantly looking for new ways to connect with our residents to make sure no one is missing out on important information.”
Kathy says the council had long been planning a new waste management solution for its residents, particularly as it was facing some concerning waste statistics.
“The idea for a new platform had been floated for a while, but the real driver was our recycling contamination rate,” she says. “We were looking for new ways to bring those numbers down and improve our recycling quality.”
The City of Casey reports a recycling contamination rate of about 25 per cent. Separating non-recyclables from clean recycling and diverting them to landfill requires extra resources, incurring up to $700,000 per year in extra costs on top of standard processing costs.
The sought an existing and similarly-implemented solution. After extensive research, it found Socket Software – a developer that had a proven track record creating digital platforms for other city councils.
Over eight weeks, the two entities worked together to build the City of Casey’s waste management app Bin it Right. The council had to enter its own data into the app’s interface – which required intense liaising with a myriad of internal groups – before it underwent testing.
“We first had to ensure all the right checks and balances were in place,” Kathy says. “After that, we did a month of internal staff testing, followed by a soft community launch and finally a hard community launch.
“Building the app was the straightforward part. Navigating the internal processes and cross-team requirements is what took most of the time.”
The Bin it Right recycling app launched just under a year ago. Designed to reduce missed bin collections, lower recycling contamination, and decrease the volume of basic customer service inquiries, its interface is organised into three tabs.
The collections tab displays users’ own bin dates for the next four weeks and allows them to set reminders so they never miss a bin day. The second tab functions as a waste directory – a visual guide of more than 500 relevant waste items for users to refer to.
Finally, the third tab acts as a service hub, consolidating all waste-related services a resident might need in one place. In this section, users can book hard rubbish collections, report litter, find container deposit locations, and check for kerbside changes.
“By focusing on a simple interface, we promote accessibility and give Casey residents the ability to find information quickly,” Kathy says. “We want them to feel confident managing their waste services through a tool that is easy to use and understand.”
Accessibility was further enhanced by breaking down language barriers to ensure comprehension and comfort for all City of Casey residents, many of whom come from diverse cultural backgrounds.
“Casey is one of the fastest growing and most multicultural areas in Australia,” Kathy says. “We have residents from more than 150 backgrounds and people moving into new estates every single day.
“We found that we couldn’t just rely on traditional letters or websites to reach everyone and we were very conscious that not everyone speaks English as their first language. Our app easy for anyone to pick up and use.”
Making it easier to use, the Bin it Right app does not require residents to create an account or share personal details – they just enter their address to get a personalised bin schedule.
Kathy says the app has been embraced by the community with more than 6000 downloads since its release.
Engagement features, such as a recycling quiz, regularly average 400 responses within the first 24 hours of being available.
“The response has honestly been amazing,” Kathy says. “In our first feedback survey, the app received a nine out of 10 rating for overall experience. Seeing this level of engagement and steady growth is incredibly encouraging.
“The most rewarding part is seeing how it’s being used organically. We’ve had some positive face-to-face feedback at our community events, and we’re also seeing people share screenshots of the app in our local Facebook groups to help their neighbours, which is the best endorsement we could ask for.”
The City of Casey is aiming to keep the app’s interface basic and usable for residents who may not be as tech-savvy. Kathy hopes the app continues to alleviate some pressures that come with managing household waste, particularly in the face of looming changes, such as the addition of a fourth kerbside bin for glass.
“I’m excited to see how the app helps our community navigate the upcoming changes to our waste services,” Kathy says.
“The platform is a great example of how a bit of innovation can make a necessary service much more straightforward for everyone.”
The City of Casey will soon complete a community recycling audit as part of its twice-yearly monitoring.
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