The Wastebits Story

It's hard to believe that in 2012, Wastebits started as an idea aboard a bus traveling between Las Vegas and Austin, TX.

A company called StartupBus has been gathering entrepreneurs and software engineers for years from various cities in North America and driving them to the SXSW Conference in Austin. Along the way they form small groups and build a pitch for a startup company, to be presented to investors at their final destination.

In 2012, one of those ideas was a software idea geared toward the waste industry, the group named their software Wastebits, and it would go on to be one of the success stories of StartupBus.

Wastebits 1.0

The initial version of Wastebits took aim at the paper-driven process of waste profiles created by waste generators, and long turnarounds of communication around approving those profiles by the waste facilities. This saved a tremendous amount of time and reduced redundancies within existing workflows. This, in turn, saved the waste facilities money and increased compliance, while making record-keeping much easier with quick reporting and auditing features. It didn't take long for Wastebits to become adopted by several large players in the waste industry.

A few of the benefits that Wastebits has provided from the beginning to users of our software include:

The Original Wastebits Explainer Video

Manifest and Scale House Support

As the software increased in adoption and matured, more features were added to make life even easier for the end-users. Because the system already had details around the types of waste being generated, combining these wastes into a waste manifest became a natural next step. With the launch of our waste manifest software module, users of Wastebits could now use a couple of clicks to create a waste manifest and accept digital signatures for non-hazardous waste streams. The EPA has stricter requirements for hazardous waste, with the launch of their e-Manifest system (more on this in a bit).

Another no-brainer addition was to incorporate scale house solutions that tie in the digital information already within the system to make scale house operations smooth. Wastebits ties in with existing scale house software as well as functioning as a stand-alone solution, making printing with or without pricing details a breeze, and simplifying reporting within a single dashboard.

The New Wastebits Explainer Video

EPA Releases e-Manifest, Wastebits Streamlines the Process

In 2018, the EPA released the e-Manifest program, requiring digital reporting of hazardous waste manifests. This program charges a per-manifest fee that varies depending upon several factors, and how much paper is involved in the process. Wastebits realized the potential to reduce the tier charged to waste companies, at a fraction of the cost that they were already saving. This e-Manifest solution allowed Wastebits to build out a team of specialists that provide human-powered services in addition to software, expanding the company into more than software-only products.

This program has been going strong since the 2018 launch and continues to evolve saving customers even more money as the fees charged by the EPA change, and requirements are updated every few years in this actively-developed initiative.

Our e-Manifest Solutions provide the following benefits to our customer base:

• 550% Fee savings over mailing manifests into the EPA.
• 300% Fee savings over scanning in  the manifests to the EPA.
• 100× More Efficient Bulk Processing  tools over EPA direct upload tool.

Customer retention with e-Manifests solution is incredible, because the cost savings begins from the very first manifest handled through our system and only multiplies the more it is used. Wastebits e-Manifest solutions are a win-win solution for everyone involved. 

Wastebits API

Along with growth comes the need for scalability. Wastebits is web-based software, so it can be updated frequently and instantly, but there comes a time where rewriting the software allows for greater functionality, easier maintenance, and future expandability. Wastebits went through this process as a complete rewrite, using the knowledge gained over years of serving existing customers, the latest in cutting-edge technology, and provided an even more responsive and easier to use system. This software refactoring also allowed Wastebits to be an API-forward system, which makes it easier to build out various interfaces to the data, and integrations with existing systems much easier.

WasteMap Locator

For the past 10 years, Wastebits has also maintained a database of waste handlers in the United States, including sites from the largest companies down to local companies with one facility. This database started with about 10,000 locations and over the years has tripled in size to over 33,000 locations. Every day there are new sites requested to be added, and update requests are made by the owners of these locations, keeping the data fresh and relevant. Search engines like Google have taken notice of the quality of data and frequency of updating and sends hundreds of thousands of website visitors every month to these pages.

It is the goal of Wastebits to maintain the largest searchable public database of waste handler information in an easy-to-use format. So far, it seems that this goal is being met, as Wastebits is within the top 3 search results for nearly every waste facility in the country.

For many locations, the WasteMap Locator provides the following information:

• Site and company descriptions
• Full address and contact information
• Waste types accepted and not accepted
• NAICs Codes for waste types
• Related locations within the same area

Through partnerships with organizations that include multiple locations, WasteMap Locator is continually updated with accurate data provided by the companies themselves, including links back to their own detailed web pages. It truly is a gem of a resource for anyone looking to search a comprehensive database of waste locations.

Wastebits Insights

Separately from the publicly-accessible Waste Handler Locator, Wastebits maintains a subscription-based database of waste handlers with detailed records of waste volumes and types. These insights are leveraged by waste businesses who are looking for business opportunities in their region or concerning their waste specialties. Access to this data is made easy with attractive reporting tools and powerful filters, and those who have subscribed already see this as their secret weapon to growing their business.

With Wastebits Insights, users are able to:

• Access generator and facility reports from the most up-to-date source available on the market today.
• Spot trends in the waste market before competitors.
• Proactively capture lead activity and be first to bid or service opportunities.

With new features being added regularly, like the ability to export search results to integrate with sales CRM software, Insights users are hoping their competition never finds this tool!

A Look Ahead

In only a few years, Wastebits has gone from an idea on a bus to an enterprise-level software and services company that powers the modern waste industry. With 5 of the top 10 waste companies using at least one of Wastebits' products, and many Fortune 500 companies utilizing the software (Disney to Tesla), Wastebits continues to build business relationships and grow our customer base.

Since inception, Wastebits has managed over 660,000 hazardous manifests, powered the operations of over 1,000 waste haulers, and served waste handler information to the public millions of times per year. There are more business opportunities in the pipeline and growth continues as we celebrate our initial 10 years, and the many more that are ahead of us. In many ways, we're just getting started.

If anything in this article sounds like it could benefit your business, schedule a demo today for a one-on-one consultation where we can explore benefits together. When you win, we win.