Arkansas city selects Rubicon

Rubicon Global, a technology company headquartered in Atlanta, has announced that Fort Smith, Arkansas, will incorporate its RubiconSmartCity platform to help improve the city's residential and commercial waste and recycling services.

The goal of the program, which will run on a pilot basis for six months, is to enhance Fort Smith’s municipal solid waste, recycling and yard waste offerings in terms of sustainability and customer service.

The city, which has around 90,000 residents, has more than 40 vehicles that provide residential, commercial and roll-off collection services at about 32,000 locations in the city. Additionally, the city operates a landfill that serves 300,000 residents.

Rubicon’s platform includes a smartphone-based mobile app, a plug-in device and a web-based portal. Rubicon’s technology will allow Fort Smith’s Department of Sanitation to collect real-time service confirmations, provide GPS vehicle tracking and enable the documentation of driver issues, including the inability to successfully complete a pickup.

The RubiconSmartCity manager portal will collect data and analytics, providing the city with real-time route updates, daily reporting and operational insights. Rubicon says the data will allow the city to provide more efficient operations and improved service for its customers and citizens.

Rubicon’s technology will be installed across the city’s entire waste and recycling fleet.

In a news release announcing the program, Michael Allegretti, Rubicon chief strategy officer, says, “Rubicon Global is remaking the entire landscape of waste and recycling through innovative technology and data analysis that helps cities of all sizes make smarter decisions about their waste, recycling and overall city operations.

“Using RubiconSmartCity, the city of Fort Smith will be able to leverage data collected from its fleet using a phone and pod-device in real time to plan optimized routes, track vehicle locations and confirm service at every location, ensuring that Fort Smith continues to realize measurable gains in terms of quality of life, customer service and taxpayer savings,” Allegretti continues.

The RubiconSmartCity program has been introduced in more than 35 U.S. cities.