
Waste as a Resource: How Data and AI Cut Recycling Costs
From Circularity.fm by Patrick Hypscher
May 12, 2026 · 30 min · Episode 98
About this episode
Benedict von Spankeren discusses how data and AI can enhance profitability and safety in waste management.
What is the value of knowing what's in your waste stream? Wasteer founder Benedict von Spankeren talks about how data and AI improve profitability and prevent dangerous accidents for waste management companies. What you'll hear in this episode: • The economic gap between recycling and waste-to-energy margins, and what this means for market entry and finding customers. • How dynamic pricing changes the business: moving away from flat fees and charging suppliers based on the actual energy value of their waste. • The difficulty of passing on carbon taxes, and why plants now need proof of exactly which supplier delivered what. The episode also discusses the challenge of getting experienced crane operators to actually use new technology on the floor. This is the third episode in "Incineration in the Circular Economy," a series sponsored by NEEW Ventures.
People in this episode
Host: Patrick Hypscher
Guest: Benedict von Spankeren
Topics covered
- waste management
- data analytics
- AI in recycling
- dynamic pricing
- circular economy
Keywords
- waste stream
- recycling costs
- profitability
- carbon taxes
- crane operators
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Wasteer
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