Recycle Truck 2030 — Concept & Specification (compiled 2025-11-01)

1) Executive Summary

The 2030 recycle truck is a quiet, zero‑emission, split‑body collection platform designed to protect material quality while keeping contamination below program thresholds. A sensor‑rich hopper and arm capture evidence of contamination, while Small Language Models (SLMs) draft resident‑friendly notices and operator notes on‑device. The truck is GIS‑native, synchronizing streams, events, and cart‑level metadata with city systems and the receiving MRF (Materials Recovery Facility).

2) What’s Different vs. “Garbage Truck 2030”

Split‑body compaction (e.g., 70/30 or 60/40) with adjustable partition; optional triple‑split for glass.
Stream logic: fiber vs. containers (or single‑stream with internal baffling to resist mixing).
Contamination detection tuned to recycling (bagged recyclables, film in fiber, food‑soiled paper, tanglers).
Cart/RFID & weight capture for set‑outs, participation, and route‑segment purity scoring.
MRF‑aware ticketing: load‑tag handoff with predicted contamination percentage and stream mix.

3) Body & Compartment Architecture

Split‑Body Options

Dual‑stream: 70/30 (fiber/containers) for paper‑heavy routes; 60/40 for balanced routes.
Triple‑split: removable 10–15% glass cell to reduce abrasion and cross‑contamination.
Adjustable partition with position telemetry to GIS.

Loading

Automated side‑loader (carts) with weigh‑in‑motion at gripper; optional rear‑assist hopper.
Baffle design to reduce crossflow during compaction.

ASCII Layout

[ Cab ]──[ Arm/Gripper ]──► [ Hopper ]
                               │
                 ┌─────────────┴─────────────┐
                 │           Split Body      │
                 │  Fiber (70%)   Containers │
                 └────────┬────────┬─────────┘
                          │        │(opt.) Glass
                          ▼        ▼
                     [Compaction] [Compaction]

Materials

Composite liners in fiber bay; abrasion‑resistant panels for glass/containers.
Sealed electronics bay (IP6K9K) with filtered positive pressure.

4) Sensors for Recycling

Core

HDR cameras: arm head, hopper, rear, sides, overhead.
Depth assist (stereo or ToF) to track cart empties and foreign items.
GNSS (multi‑band) + IMU for geotagging events and stops.
Load cells at gripper or e‑axle/air‑suspension taps for cart & segment weights.
RFID/Barcode cart ID (where program supports tagging).

Optional

Near‑IR (NIR) assist for plastic class cues (snapshot, not lab‑grade).
Thermal IR glance for hot loads (battery risk) to route away from glass bay.

Contamination Cues

Film/plastic bags in fiber; tanglers (hoses, cords); food‑soiled paper.
Scrap metal and e‑waste in containers; black plastic detection heuristics.
Bagged recyclables policy: flag vs. accept (program‑dependent).

Evidence

Short clips/stills, timestamped and geotagged with cart ID & weight.
On‑device redaction for faces and license plates before export.

5) On‑Board Compute & SLM Agents

Rugged edge compute (GPU/NPU) with mirrored SSD ring buffer.
SLM agents draft operator notes and resident‑friendly outreach (multi‑language), e.g., “Plastic film found in fiber—please bundle or drop‑off.”
Message bus (MQTT) + GeoPackage/SQLite outbox for store‑and‑forward sync.
Privacy pipeline: blur/redact on device; only approved clips leave the truck.

6) On‑Route Workflows

Driver UI

Stop list with split‑body status (partition %, fill levels).
One‑tap contamination review: accept/reject, severity, quick note (SLM‑suggested).
Cart ID + weight auto‑attached to the event.

Outreach

Generate a resident card or digital notice with photo evidence and tips.
Track repeat offenses; escalate to cart‑tag program if needed.

ASCII Data Flow

[Cameras / RFID / Weigh] → [Edge Detector+SLM] → [Review UI] → [Case/CRM]
                                         ↘            ↘
                                           [GIS]       [MRF Ticketing]

GIS Sync

Feature layers for events (contam_flags), cart set‑outs, segment weights.
Attachments for media; route heatmaps for hotspot discovery.

7) KPIs & Program Metrics

Set‑out rate (% of eligible stops).
Capture rate (kg per household per stream).
Contamination rate (events per 100 stops; predicted load % vs. MRF ticket).
Outreach effectiveness (repeat rate drop over 90 days).
On‑time performance and driver review time per event.

8) Data Model (Streams & Events)

Field	Type	Example	Notes
event_id	UUID	e5f1‑…	Unique per event
ts_utc	Datetime	2030‑04‑12T16:22:01Z	Timestamp
lat, lon	Double	47.61,‑122.33	WGS84
cart_id	String	RFID‑A1B2	Optional
weight_kg	Float	7.4	Per‑cart or segment
stream	Enum	fiber\|containers\|glass	Declared stream
contam_type	Enum	film_in_fiber	Taxonomy‑driven
severity	Short	0–3	0 minor … 3 urgent
media_ref	String	img_162201.jpg	Attachment link
outreach_id	String	case‑9091	CRM/case link

Field

Type

Example

Notes

event_id

UUID

e5f1‑…

Unique per event

ts_utc

Datetime

2030‑04‑12T16:22:01Z

Timestamp

lat, lon

Double

47.61,‑122.33

WGS84

cart_id

String

RFID‑A1B2

Optional

weight_kg

Float

7.4

Per‑cart or segment

stream

Enum

fiber|containers|glass

Declared stream

contam_type

Enum

film_in_fiber

Taxonomy‑driven

severity

Short

0–3

0 minor … 3 urgent

media_ref

String

img_162201.jpg

Attachment link

outreach_id

String

case‑9091

CRM/case link

9) Depot / MRF Integration

Load tickets: truck predicts contamination % and stream mix; reconciled against MRF QC.
Bale analytics (downstream): feed back bale quality to route hotspots and education.
Glass handling: protect liners; route to dedicated bunkers if triple‑split used.

10) Safety, Privacy & Compliance

On‑device redaction (faces/plates); short retention for raw buffers.
Driver assist (360° cameras, radar corners); night IR for alley runs.
Chain‑of‑custody hashing for exported evidence clips (when needed).

11) 2030 Spec Sheet (example)

Chassis	Class 8 low‑entry, 6x4, 18–20 t GVW
Energy	BEV 400–500 kWh, 800 V bus; DC fast charge to 350 kW
Body	Split‑body 70/30 (adjustable); optional 3rd glass cell
Sensors	HDR cams (arm/hopper/360), depth assist, GNSS/IMU, gripper load cells, RFID
Compute	Rugged GPU/NPU carrier; dual SSD ring buffer; LTE/5G
Privacy	On‑device blur/redaction; role‑based access
GIS	ArcGIS/QGIS native sync; attachments; offline areas
Noise	< 72 dBA residential run

12) Procurement Checklist

Category	Key Questions
Body/Partition	Split ratio adjustability, liner materials, crossflow control
Sensing	Arm/hopper cameras, depth assist, load cells, RFID support
AI/SLMs	On‑device redaction, contamination taxonomy, outreach templates
GIS/APIs	Feature layers, attachments, offline sync, outbox resilience
MRF Handoff	Load ticket data, predicted contamination %, reconciliation workflow
EV/Charging	Pack size, duty cycle model, depot charger mix, thermal strategy

13) Roadmap: 2025 → 2030

2025–2026: Side‑loader camera analytics; cart weight + RFID; pilot split‑body on select routes.
2027–2028: SLM outreach automation; MRF ticket reconciliation loop; triple‑split trials.
2029–2030: Fleet‑wide BEV; predictive route purity scoring; full GIS‑native dashboards.