MANTIS FOR WASTE & RECYCLING
Parked cars, people and constant stops. Give your crew a record of the collection and the vehicle’s surroundings when a complaint arrives.
Build the view for your fleet
ILLUSTRATIVE VEHICLE / APPLICATION VIEWFront- and rear-loader refuse trucks and recycling fleets
WHY COLLECTION IS DIFFERENT
A collection truck covers fewer miles than a Class 8 tractor and meets more hazards per mile than almost anything else on the road. The risk is in the route, not the odometer.
Cul-de-sacs, dead ends and turnarounds mean backing several times an hour, on residential streets with no spotter and no room. It happens where children, parked cars and mailboxes are, and it happens hundreds of times a shift across a fleet.
On rear-load routes the helper works within touching distance of the hopper and the lift, in the blind spot directly behind the body. A rear camera is what stands between the driver and a zone he cannot see from the seat.
Most states now have a Slow Down to Get Around law requiring drivers to slow or move over for a stopped collection vehicle. Enforcement is thin and compliance is worse, and transportation incidents remain the largest single category of workplace death.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2024, released February 19, 2026. Refuse and recyclable material collectors recorded 37.4 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, the fifth-highest of any occupation, against 3.3 across all occupations. Transportation incidents accounted for 38.2 percent of all occupational fatalities. Slow Down to Get Around requirements vary by state; Texas Transportation Code 545.157 requires slowing to 20 mph, or less where the posted limit is lower.
RECON ON THE ROUTE
The same three streams as the rest of the MANTIS platform, tuned to what a collection route throws at a driver and an operations manager.
Each truck and driver is scored against the fleet, weighted by the multipliers that matter on a collection route: backing frequency, time of day, weather and street density. Scores are relative comparisons that tell you where to look first. They are not a forecast that a collision will happen.
In-cab alerts flag pedestrians and cyclists in the curbside zone, close following and distraction as they happen. Alerts support the driver judgment and the crew safe work practices. They do not replace either, and they do not guarantee prevention.
When a resident claims a mirror strike, a driver claims a scrape or a helper is hurt, the Evidence Center pulls footage from every camera around the moment with telemetry alongside.
Risk scores in RECON examples are shown out of 15 and use demo data. A harsh brake may be defensive driving: review footage, context and the driver account before drawing a conclusion, and never let a score alone decide an employment, underwriting or liability outcome. On Demand retrieval depends on power, connectivity and retention settings.
THE QUESTIONS THAT MATTER
Use time and location context to find available video from the round.
Review the relevant camera angles instead of relying on conflicting accounts.
Use health reporting and physical lens checks together; not every obstruction is a device failure.
CAMERA COVERAGE
A typical front or rear loader configuration puts cameras where a collection route actually goes wrong: ahead, down both sides, across the rear working area and, if you choose, in the cab.
Camera positions, counts and AI detections depend on the configuration selected for each vehicle type. Ask us about side loaders, roll-offs and automated side loaders, which need a different layout.
Explore multi-camera systemsMANTIS HEALTH
A camera that failed on Tuesday looks exactly like one that is working, right up until the Thursday you go looking for the clip. Finding out at the first dead end costs a missed route and a crew standing around.
Every camera, recorder and connection, fleet-wide, in one view.
Naming the truck, the camera and the time, so the shop knows what to look at.
Handled under your package terms, so a failed unit is a ticket, not a purchase order.
Offline is not proof of camera failure. Monitoring or power alone does not guarantee useful recording or retrievable footage. Whether a truck with a reported fault continues its route is a decision under your own safety program.
STANDARDS AND STATE LAW
Collection fleets answer to more than the vehicle code. RECON is designed to support the programs you already run, not to replace them or to certify them.
SLOW DOWN TO GET AROUND
Most states now require drivers to slow down or move over for a stopped waste or recycling collection vehicle. Texas Transportation Code 545.157, for example, requires slowing to 20 mph, or less where the posted limit is lower.
When a passing vehicle does not slow, the footage from the curbside and rear cameras is what establishes where your truck was, where your helper was standing and how the other driver approached.
Requirements, speeds and penalties vary by state and are subject to change; check your current state code. MANTIS does not determine fault in any incident.
ANSI Z245.1
ANSI Z245.1 governs the safety requirements for mobile waste and recyclable materials collection equipment. Cameras sit alongside that standard and your own safe work practices; they do not substitute for either.
What RECON adds is evidence that the practices were followed, and visibility of whether the equipment you rely on was actually working that morning.
MANTIS does not certify compliance with ANSI Z245.1, with any OSHA requirement, or with any state or municipal standard.
BRING YOUR FLEET. BRING YOUR QUESTIONS.
Let’s demonstrate the camera views, health checks and evidence workflow your operation actually needs.
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