California Waste Solutions is installing EverestLabs AI scanners at its 10th Street material recovery facility in Oakland and expanding Pellenc optical-sorting capacity at its Timothy facility in San Jose, the company said. The company said the investment is intended to support Oakland's efforts against illegal dumping.
The city announced Aerbits on September 10, a program using AI-assisted aerial imagery to identify abandoned trash rather than waiting for 311 reports. Mayor Barbara Lee rolled the program out with founder Brian Johnson last week. The release states the flights are part of a broader cleanup push that includes more cameras, higher fines and a $9.2 million Crankstart-backed investment announced in June.
At the Oakland plant, the new scanners monitor material entering the container line and report what remains headed for disposal, counting items and recording belt burden and exposed belt area so operators can judge whether a line is running too deep or unevenly to recover what should have been pulled. According to the release, the scanners give crews a running record rather than a single walk-through per shift, allowing supervisors to trace recurring items back to settings, loading or contamination. Robotics, additional optical sorting or both are under consideration, and the company said it adds machines only when it knows what is being missed.
Michael Duong, president of California Waste Solutions, said the company is glad to help Oakland, where it was founded, address illegal dumping concerns. David Duong, the founder, said better-organized and better-regulated trash disposal produces better results for customers and residents. The company said it has used optical sorting in its U.S. plants since the mid-2000s, has collected household batteries at the curb in Oakland since 2015, and plans curbside battery collection for single-family homes in San Jose in early 2027. Founded in Oakland in 1992, the company says it serves more than 343,000 customers in Oakland and San Jose and operates six Bay Area facilities.
