# Intelligent Dumpsters and Sustainable Waste Disposal with Ben Chehebar, VP of Hardware at RoadRunner Recycling, and Jason Gates, Senior VP of Strategy at RoadRunner Recycling

- Show: [Hardware to Save a Planet](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet)
- Published: 2023-03-30
- Length: 49m
- Episode: 23
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har
- Listen: https://podcasts.fame.so/e/08jzxmz8-ben-and-jason-intelligent-dumpsters-sustainable-waste-disposal

## Summary

Ben Chehebar and Jason Gates, founders of Compology (now part of RoadRunner Recycling), explain how they pivoted from a residential anaerobic digester concept to building smart connected cameras that monitor dumpster fill levels and contamination. They detail the hardware challenges of creating rugged, long-life devices using Cat M cellular connectivity and machine learning, and discuss how they overcame resistance from waste haulers by selling directly to large waste generators like McDonald's and Starbucks. The episode covers their acquisition by RoadRunner, the integration of their technology into outsourced waste management, and the broader shift in corporate incentives toward ESG reporting and cost reduction.

## Chapters

- [0:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=3) Introduction: Ben Chehebar and Jason Gates of Compology/RoadRunner
- [2:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=130) Founding Story: From Middle School Friends to Startup
- [4:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=296) Pivoting: From Anaerobic Digesters to Smart Dumpsters
- [10:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=636) Market Fit: Overcoming Waste Hauler Resistance
- [15:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=954) Hardware Design: Cameras, Sensors, and Rugged Enclosures
- [29:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=1759) Connectivity and Operations: Cat M, Batteries, and Mechanical Turk
- [38:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=2311) Data Value and Expansion: Trucking and ESG Reporting
- [41:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har#t=2502) Acquisition: RoadRunner Integration and Future Outlook

## Topics

- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Compology (company)
- RoadRunner Recycling (company)
- Synapse (company)
- McDonald's (company)
- Starbucks (company)
- Google (company)
- Cat M (other)
- Verizon (company)
- Dyson (company)
- Climate Tech VC (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Making garbage useful with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-17-making-garbage-useful-with-tom-szaky-of-terracycle) (How I Built This)
- [Reclaiming food waste with Jasmine Crowe-Houston of Goodr (2022)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-09-14-reclaiming-food-waste-with-jasmine-crowe-houston-of-goodr-2022) (How I Built This)
- [The Internet of Septage (with Akiba)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba) (The Amp Hour)
- [This episode is trash](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-01-19-this-episode-is-trash) (Catalyst)
- [186 - Landfill degradable water bottles?? Kahle Wightman from Serum](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-03-29-186-landfill-degradable-water-bottles-kahle-wightman-from-serum) (People of Packaging)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Hardware to Save a Planet.