Updated / Friday, 13 Jun 2025 17:41
The Panda waste company has said it intends to roll out more detection cameras on its trucks across the country over the next year.
The system has been set up to identify households that are not disposing of their waste correctly and is currently installed in ten of its trucks around the Dublin area.
The company has also said it does not have plans to increase charges on those who repeatedly offend.
Under the system, the contents of each bin are photographed as it is tipped into the bin truck.
The waste can be traced back to the individual households through unique chips in each bin.
The images are then uploaded and reviewed by a Panda team back at base who check for contamination, items that have been put in the wrong bin.
Where incorrect disposal is detected, the household gets an email – along with a photograph, informing them about what has been done wrong and advising them of the right way of sorting their waste.
Panda CEO, Brian McCabe, said the system is in place to educate customers on how to dispose of their rubbish correctly and ultimately increase recycling levels.
“The purpose of this is to increase recycling levels … and change the habits of our customers so they know how to recycle properly and eliminate contamination within the bins,” he said.
The scheme has been in place in areas around the capital for the last number of months, and the company says it is having an impact.
“We’re seeing huge changes in terms of the of the levels of contamination reducing down by customers receiving the photographs and the letters and the habits are changing. Big, big numbers in terms of reduction in contamination,” he says.
Mr McCabe has also said that the company has no plans to increase charges on customers who are identified as repeatedly offending.
“Our objective as a company is to change habits and educate customers. That’s what this has been used for, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do… We have no intention to increase charges. Our plan is, is to educate customers, change habits and increase recycling figures.’
“Our objective at Panda is to educate customers and not increase charges,” he said.
Addressing privacy concerns, the company also said that the cameras used are deliberately low resolution, done with the aim of obscuring any personal information that may be among the pile.
“When the pictures are taken, no one can see addresses, envelopes, names, anything like that. You can only see the contamination that’s in there, so there was absolutely zero risk of any GDPR issues. And we, we’ve been very conscious of that from the very outset in terms of the development of this system.”
Currently 10 out of 125 of Panda’s trucks are fitted with cameras – they’re aiming to roll it out further, nationally over the next 12 months.
