WM · Earnings call · 2026Q3T · Full report

Technology-Driven Operating Efficiency

WASTE MANAGEMENT INC · 2026-10-27 · Importance 23 · Surprise 24

WM uses smart-truck technology to identify service overages and is continuing to enhance those capabilities. Management also cited employee health-and-safety tools, routing algorithms and NBO technology in industrial operations, which uses real-time traffic conditions to improve daily routing. The company is exploring AI applications to assist dispatchers and using predictive analytical tools to support pricing decisions across the business. In health care and processing, WM is embedding routing technology and upgrading plant robotics to improve operating efficiency and address labor-market challenges.

Key facts

• WM expects technology to help it expand margins in the 50- to 100-basis-point range consistently over time.
• Waste Management was piloting remote heavy equipment with Caterpillar at one hazardous landfill and at a facility in Arizona, with potential to lower costs over time.
• Waste Management said it had shifted from rear loaders to automated side loaders in collection for safety and labor reasons.
• WM was upgrading robotics capabilities in some processing plants to help address challenges in the broader labor market.
• Waste Management said accurate billing and customers paying at a normalized rate were important improvements in Health Care Solutions; it had reduced some SG&A and was automating more of the process.
• Waste Management said routing algorithms were being used to redirect some material to its own assets instead of third parties, which would also positively affect price.
• WM's technology strategy included smart truck technology to identify potential overages, operating tools for employee health and safety, and routing algorithms.
• WM's NBO technology on the industrial side uses real-time traffic conditions to improve daily routing.