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Mesa tests artificial intelligence on garbage trucks to boost safety
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PrevNextThe city of Mesa has begun equipping a small number of municipal garbage trucks with artificial intelligence to help reduce accidents and improve worker safety, city officials said.
By:Sean McDowell
Posted
MESA, AZ — The city of Mesa has begun equipping a small number of municipal garbage trucks with artificial intelligence to help reduce accidents and improve worker safety, city officials said
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says working as a trash collector is among the nation’s most dangerous jobs. Mesa’s fleet of 90 trash trucks serves more than 140,000 residential customers each week, and city officials said there were 95 damage claims related to the department’s garbage trucks between June 2024 and April 2026
Three of Mesa’s 90 trucks are currently testing the new AI system, which uses five to seven high-definition cameras mounted on each vehicle to detect people or objects in the truck’s path, officials said. An audible alarm sounded during a recent demonstration
Paul Thomas, a Mesa Solid Waste Division safety technician who has driven the trucks for eight years, said the system alerts drivers when a truck’s arm is deployed
“If the arm is out while we’re going down the street, an alarm will go off and let you know it’s out so you can prevent getting into an accident,” Thomas said
Sherri Collins, director of the city’s Solid Waste Division, said she expects the technology to improve further and that it will speed incident reporting to her staff. She noted the cameras currently in use on some trucks are six- to 10-year-old systems
“I’m all on board. I think this is such amazing technology. It’s literally taking a 1990s technology and moving it into 2026,” Collins said
Safety is the primary reason for adding AI, officials said, including a renewed emphasis on keeping children away from trucks during pickup. Collins cautioned that kids are often fascinated by garbage trucks and urged the public to maintain a safe distance
The pilot program will help the city evaluate whether to expand the technology across the fleet, officials said
Disclaimer: Artificial intelligence was used to convert the broadcast version of this script into a text version for publication online
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