Theresa Evans听
Municipal waste systems rarely change quickly. Equipment ages, routes become outdated, and operational habits settle in. But in Syracuse, New York, a multi-year effort to modernize the City鈥檚 waste and recycling collection system has transformed daily operations, improved worker safety, reduced litter, and created a more efficient and equitable service for residents.听
Spanning 2021 through 2025, the initiative demonstrates how a city can successfully implement large-scale operational changes by pairing modern equipment with digital tools, strong interdepartmental coordination, and a robust public engagement strategy. The result is a replicable model for other municipalities seeking to improve their service delivery while reducing long-term costs.听
Why Syracuse Needed Change听
Before the project began, Syracuse鈥檚 sanitation system faced challenges familiar to many cities. Collection was manual, relying on rear-load packers and requiring workers to lift heavy bags and bins. Routes had not been reviewed in more than a decade, leading to significant imbalances and operational strain.听
Staffing shortages often left the City without enough crews to complete all scheduled routes, resulting in what the City referred to as 鈥渄own routes,鈥� meaning a route that could not be staffed and therefore required reassignment or delayed service.听
Worker injuries, especially shoulder injuries from repetitive lifting, were common. Recycling participation hovered at 49%, and open-top bins contributed to widespread litter and inconsistent set-out practices.听
A Comprehensive Modernization Strategy听
Working with Barton & Loguidice, the City developed a multi-phase modernization plan that combined equipment upgrades, digital tools, operational restructuring, and extensive public outreach.听
Standardized 96-Gallon Carts for Trash and Recycling听
The City rolled out standardized trash carts in 2023 and recycling carts citywide in 2024. The new carts reduced litter, improved set-out consistency, enabled semi-automated collection, and supported bi-weekly recycling service. Residents quickly adapted to the system, with compliance reaching 90% within six weeks and ultimately rising to 99.5%.听
Semi-Automated Collection Equipment听
To improve worker safety, mechanical tippers were installed on sanitation trucks, eliminating the need for workers to lift heavy containers. This change resulted in a dramatic reduction in shoulder injuries, from 17 in 2022, to 0 in 2025.听
Route Optimization and Digital Operations听
The City implemented Rubicon鈥檚 SaaS platform to digitize operations, reduce missed pickups, streamline inspections, and optimize routes for efficiency and fuel savings. These improvements are projected to save the City approximately $205,000 annually.听
Digital Code Enforcement听
A new digital enforcement system strengthened coordination across departments by enabling real-time violation tracking, faster cleanup of illegal setouts, more consistent enforcement, and better data for decision-making.听
Interdepartmental Process Mapping听
To ensure smooth implementation, the City aligned workflows across Public Works, Code Enforcement, Environmental Services, Administrative Adjudication, Cityline (311), and Communications. This coordination ensured that all departments operated from the same data and understood their roles in the new system.听
A Major Public Communications Campaign听
The City executed its largest public communications effort in recent memory, reaching residents through more than 32 touchpoints. Outreach included more than 320,000 direct mailers, multilingual materials in five languages, public-facing maps, social media campaigns generating over 61,000 impressions, community meetings, and extensive press engagement. This level of communication was essential to achieving near-universal compliance.听
Funding and Cost Savings听
The $7 million project was funded through a combination of $1 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, $3 million from New York State鈥檚 Financial Restructuring Board, and over $700,000 from The Recycling Partnership for recycling carts and education.听
The City is now realizing ongoing savings through reduced disposal costs, 1,443 tons avoided in the first year of Phase 1 alone, combined with operational efficiencies and reduced workers鈥� compensation costs. Combined, these savings are projected to exceed $750,000 annually, helping offset the initial investment and supporting long-term sustainability of the program.听
Recycling Participation and Material Quality听
Although recycling participation did not significantly increase immediately after the rollout, the City gained more consistent set-outs, reduced litter, and better data for targeted outreach. Material quality remained stable, with contamination levels 鈥渁bout the same,鈥� according to WM鈥檚 Recycle America MRF Facility in Syracuse. The City is now focusing on targeted education in neighborhoods with lower participation rates.听
Lessons Learned: What Other Municipalities Can Take Away听
Syracuse鈥檚 experience offers practical insights for cities planning similar transitions. On the communications side, the City found it essential to communicate separately with owners and occupants, engage all departments early, prepare sanitation staff through weekly meetings, and use neighborhood听groups to spread information. Clear timelines for enforcement and tracking complaint patterns also proved valuable.听
Data management required anticipating address errors, maintaining a system for corrections, using a project management platform, planning for refusals and missed deliveries, identifying hard-to-access properties early, and maintaining ongoing cart asset management.听
Operationally, Syracuse learned the importance of testing equipment with crews before rollout, installing two tippers per truck when possible, standardizing cart placement, providing ample warning stickers, offering additional carts for a fee, and distributing carts by quadrant for large rollouts.听
For recycling specifically, the City found that focusing education on what is recyclable, rather than how to use the cart, was most effective. Engaging cart vendors early and rolling out trash and recycling carts in consecutive years helped residents adapt more easily.听
A Model for Modern Municipal Sanitation听
Syracuse鈥檚 revitalized sanitation program demonstrates what is possible when a city invests in modern equipment, digital tools, and strong community engagement. The results include cleaner streets, safer working conditions, more efficient operations, stronger interdepartmental coordination, and a more equitable and accessible system for residents.听
As municipalities across the country grapple with aging fleets, staffing shortages, and rising disposal costs, Syracuse offers a clear and replicable roadmap for modernization.听
Theresa Evans is an experienced Project Manager in the Solid 91仓库 Practice Area of Barton & Loguidice, a multidisciplinary consulting firm providing technical services to public and private clients. She can be reached at [email protected].