A different kind of waste processing – turning waste data into information through interactive dashboards
Waste data can be complex. For councils, contractors, and internal teams alike, it often arrives in fragmented formats and requires a good deal of effort before it can support decisions.
Working alongside Colac Otway Shire, we set out to change that.
What began as a need for improved visibility evolved into a suite of interactive Tableau dashboards, giving council staff a clearer understanding of:
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Waste collection behaviour
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Landfill diversion trends
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Service performance across the Shire
Bringing in Waste Data Reconciliation
A key part of the project — and one we believe is often overlooked in local government analytics — was waste data reconciliation.
This involved checking contractor-supplied data for:
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Omissions (e.g. missing waste runs or skipped suburbs)
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Duplicates (especially across multi-day collections)
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Unexpected values or inconsistencies
Rather than pointing fingers, this process helped both Council and its contractor build trust in the data. Everyone could see the same picture — and that created space for better conversations and more confident decisions.
Bringing Systems Together
The waste dashboard also integrates data from:
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Council’s CRM system (e.g. service requests)
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Collection schedules
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Waste stream volumes with historical and seasonal trends
The result is more than just reporting — it’s a decision-support tool for:
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Performance tracking
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Community education campaigns
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Financial and environmental planning
“We’re no longer just reporting the data — we’re using it to make decisions.”
Design That Supports Understanding
The dashboard suite behaves more like a software application than a report. It uses consistent colour-coding across all waste streams, enabling quick recognition of patterns and issues.
That design consistency helps reduce confusion and supports clear communication between departments, contractors, and leadership teams.
The suite of dashboards are more like a software application, particularly with their consistent use of colour to identify different waste streams.
A Collaborative Success
We’re grateful to the team at Colac Otway Shire for their trust and collaboration on this project, and for allowing us to share some of what we’ve built together.
This project has reminded us that good analytics isn’t just about visualising data — it’s about bringing people together around a shared understanding. When councils, contractors, and internal teams are all looking at the same information, conversations shift from “what’s wrong with the data?” to “what should we do next?”
That’s when data really starts to deliver.
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