How CurbWaste’s AI Platform Is Digitizing America’s Fragmented Waste Management Sector

The Inefficient Backbone of Modern Civilization

While artificial intelligence transforms industries from healthcare to finance, one essential sector has remained stubbornly analog: waste management. This $1 trillion industry forms the invisible infrastructure that keeps cities clean and functional, yet operates with surprisingly outdated methods. Family-run hauling companies, which dominate the market, still rely on paper tickets, clipboards, and manual spreadsheets to coordinate routes, track trucks, and process payments.

The Inefficient Backbone of Modern Civilization
From Paper Tickets to AI-Driven Operations
Overcoming Industry Inertia Through Digital Transformation
Standardizing Data Across Diverse Municipal Requirements
Building Community and Driving Industry Evolution
The Future of Intelligent Waste Management

According to Mike Marmo, CEO of CurbWaste and a fourth-generation waste industry veteran, this fragmentation creates massive inefficiencies in an industry where individual trucks can cost $300,000 each. “When we started to seek out technology, we really weren’t able to find anything that gave us an edge or made us more data-driven,” Marmo explained during an interview with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster. This technology gap inspired the creation of CurbWaste’s comprehensive digital platform.

From Paper Tickets to AI-Driven Operations

CurbWaste represents a fundamental shift in how waste management companies operate. The platform centralizes customer orders, dispatching, driver applications, invoicing, and reporting through what Marmo describes as “implied AI” – technology that works quietly in the background to automate repetitive, manual tasks.

“Software allows you to get visibility into your business in a way that you can’t do otherwise,” Marmo emphasized. The system captures and codifies what he calls “tribal knowledge” from experienced dispatchers who understand local routes and customer patterns. “AI allows you to consume that information and then spit out a more proactive decision-making process,” transforming institutional knowledge into actionable business intelligence., according to market analysis

Overcoming Industry Inertia Through Digital Transformation

The waste sector’s biggest challenge isn’t technological – it’s cultural. Multi-generational family businesses, comfortable with paper-based systems, often view digital transformation as a daunting undertaking. Karen Webster observed that this inertia represents a significant barrier to modernization in an industry dominated by established operations resistant to change.

Marmo acknowledges these challenges but insists that digitization is no longer optional. “Technology used to be a nice-to-have. Now it’s a must-have,” he stated. “We’re truly in an industrial revolution at the moment, so it’s even more critical to be at the forefront of it.” The platform turns information that once sat in file drawers into strategic insights that drive efficiency and profitability.

Standardizing Data Across Diverse Municipal Requirements

One of CurbWaste’s most significant innovations lies in its ability to standardize operations while accommodating local variations. “Waste is always local,” Marmo noted. “Everybody’s picking up garbage relatively similarly, however, the communities… are very different.”

The platform normalizes data flows so haulers can meet varied municipal and environmental reporting requirements efficiently. “Anything that we can do to help them normalize that data and then visualize it… and save that in a format that can be presented or automated completely is really powerful,” Marmo explained. This capability becomes increasingly valuable as municipalities implement more sophisticated environmental tracking and reporting mandates.

Building Community and Driving Industry Evolution

Beyond software solutions, CurbWaste is fostering a community where waste management professionals can connect and learn from one another. Marmo highlighted the enthusiasm of younger industry entrants: “The younger people coming into the industry… have a thirst for learning and they really want to improve this industry in a meaningful way.”

This community-focused approach underpins the company’s growth strategy. CurbWaste recently secured $28 million in Series B funding, led by Socium Ventures and backed by Cox Enterprises, with participation from Flourish Ventures, TTV Capital, B Capital Group, and Squarepoint. This brings the company’s total funding to $50 million, signaling strong investor confidence in their vision for modernizing waste management., as covered previously

The Future of Intelligent Waste Management

Looking ahead, Marmo sees data and analytics as central to CurbWaste’s evolution. “We’re going to continue to invest in the data and analytics and give customers more AI-powered business intelligence,” he stated. The company aims to build what Marmo describes as “something that’s really powerful,” with a brand that “will stand for community” above all else.

As waste management joins the digital revolution, platforms like CurbWaste are demonstrating how AI and data integration can transform even the most traditional industries. By combining technological innovation with community building, the company is positioning itself at the forefront of an industry-wide transformation that promises to make waste haulers more efficient, profitable, and environmentally compliant.