In this edition of Catalyst, Arizona PBS puts a spotlight on RISN Incubator venture Hygiea and the way their company is disrupting how we traditionally collect and interact with waste. Hygiea is a startup led by Arizona State University engineering alumni and graduate students focused on driving efficiencies in the waste management industry through their unique technology and products. After noticing trash cans overflowing with waste on and off-campus, the Hygiea team was inspired to find a more innovative approach for those dealing with waste every day.

“During my time in Memorial Union [as an ASU student] just going to Starbucks, I saw that most of the trash cans were consistently full especially during peak hours and there was no feedback to the janitorial services team that the cans were getting full,” said Surya Iyer, Business Development Manager for Hygiea. So, we thought about how we would actually connect the worker to the trash can and how can we make this network more intelligent? From there we started working on our first prototype.”

For those whose job it is to keep track of dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of trash cans spread out over many miles, it is easy to see how time spent emptying and checking on the cans can start to add up and impact day-to-day activities. Hygiea believes this is a problem they can solve with their smart, efficient trash can sensors.