TrashLab raises $12M to automate waste haulers’ back offices

TrashLab, a waste management software company, recently secured $12 million in funding to develop more automated agents for waste haulers' back offices. The money will be used to create additional AI agents for dispatch, billing, and collections, with the goal of further digitizing office tasks for waste haulers. Mike Smith, president of First State Waste, reported that since TrashLab's platform went live, his company was able to triple its fleet while maintaining the same small back-office team.

TrashLab's platform aims to replace the traditional tools and software waste haulers have relied on for decades, such as spreadsheets and paper routes. The system unifies call centers, customer records, dispatch and routing, in-cab driver apps and truck cameras, billing and payments, and reporting into one seamless system. Neil Chaudhary, TrashLab's co-founder and CEO, explained that haulers have previously had to choose between outdated tools and platforms that cannot handle multiple lines of business.

A recent case study provided by Uribe Refuse showed how TrashLab's platform helped the company manage truck cameras, which automatically moved flagged issues to customer texts and invoices. Brad Uribe, the owner of Uribe Refuse, highlighted that the company is now able to catch, bill, and resolve issues that once went unnoticed.

Funding for TrashLab's expansion came from Ventana, an early-growth equity firm, as well as existing investors Bienville Capital, Harlem Capital, and CreativeCo. Vinay Kumar, co-founder and partner of Ventana, has joined TrashLab's board, while Ershad Jamil, a former chief growth officer at ServiceTitan and BuildOps, has been appointed as an independent director. TrashLab reported that its annual contract value has increased by more than sevenfold since 2024, as customers add modules to the platform.

TrashLab serves hundreds of waste haulers across more than 40 states in the U.S. and Canada, with over 5 million tons of material managed on the platform since its launch. The waste hauling industry is a substantial and profitable market, with Waste Business Journal estimating that U.S. waste and recycling revenue reached $104.63 billion in 2024, marking the first time it surpassed the $100 billion mark.

Vinay Kumar praised TrashLab as the "fastest-growing platform" in an industry that has been underserved by software for decades.

TrashLab's dispatch, billing, and collections agents are still in development and are scheduled for rollout through 2027. Founded in 2022 by Chaudhary and John Tan, TrashLab plans to expand its engineering and customer success teams in the coming months. Chaudhary emphasized that customers can see returns from fuel savings, leaner back offices, and faster collections within weeks of implementing the platform.

The company's success in automating waste haulers' back offices could lead to increased adoption of their technology, but the rollout timeline may pose some challenges.