More and more building managers recognize the benefits of performance monitoring – energy consumption, water use, indoor air quality. Waste, however, remains one of the most overlooked aspects of operational sustainability. It’s more difficult to measure, harder to standardize, and often managed through manual audits or rough estimates. That’s why we’re happy to introduce a new feature in BEE Sense — AI Waste Audit — designed to make waste data just as accessible and actionable as any other building performance metric.
A Simple Process with Real Impact
For years, waste has been one of the least transparent aspects of building operations. Facility teams might know how often pickups happen or have general recycling targets, but rarely have detailed data on what’s actually in the bins — and how well people are sorting their waste.
This lack of visibility creates missed opportunities. It becomes harder to spot contamination issues, track improvements, or prove compliance with certification standards.
The new BEE Sense AI-powered Waste Audit tool changes that.
Here’s how it works:
- Take a photo: A staff member, cleaner, or building operator takes a photo of a bin, dumpster, or waste pile using a phone, tablet, or even an existing security camera.
- Upload it to the application: BEE Sense’s AI analyzes the image, recognizing materials, identifying contamination, estimating how full the bin is, and calculating its approximate weight.
- View the results: The data is automatically uploaded to the BEE Sense dashboard, where it can be visualized, tracked, and compared over time or across different locations.
That’s it — no special hardware or sensor installation needed. The system works in offices, schools, commercial buildings, and even high-rise residential towers. It’s as close to plug-and-play as waste monitoring gets.
With this feature, users can:
- Track total waste generation over time
- Monitor diversion rates – how much is recycled, composted, or sent to landfill
- Identify contamination issues early, reduce penalties, and improve compliance
- Break down waste composition by material types, such as paper, plastic, metal, organics, etc
- Tailor waste audits by space — analyzing performance at the building level, in specific rooms, or even down to individual containers
This kind of granularity gives building teams the insight they need to take real action.
AI-Driven Insights for Better Waste Management
Built-in Intelligence
One of the most powerful elements of the system is the AI Analyzer, which gets smarter over time. The more data it sees, the more accurately it can identify materials, flag issues, and even provide recommendations.
For example, if one floor consistently shows a higher contamination rate than the rest of the building, the system can suggest targeted recommendations, like improving signage, adjusting bin placements, or providing short training for cleaning staff or tenants. It doesn’t just record what’s happening; it learns, adapts, and helps drive better decisions.
Supporting Green Building Goals
Waste audits help projects demonstrate performance for green building certifications and ESG reporting. With documentation-ready visuals, data exports, and customizable filters by time, location, and material type, the BEE Sense Waste Audit feature simplifies the process of meeting sustainability benchmarks.
BEE Sense supports a wide range of goals. It contributes to LEED v5’s enhanced materials and waste requirements, supports WELL’s waste reduction strategies, and helps track internal KPIs.
From Invisible to Actionable
The reality is that most buildings generate more waste than they realize, and recycle less than they think. Without data, it’s difficult to improve. But when you can see what’s in your bins, when and where it was thrown away, and how it compares to your goals — the conversation changes.
Waste becomes visible. Patterns become clear. And performance becomes something you can actually manage, not just guess at.
BEE Sense helps to close a critical gap in building intelligence. It’s now easier than ever to go from “we think we’re doing okay” to “here’s exactly how we’re doing — and how we can do better.”
If you’d like to learn more or discuss how this feature can support your building’s sustainability goals, please don’t hesitate to contact our engineering team.
