Pasadena Weighs AI Trash Monitoring, Body Cameras for Parking Staff

(TNS) — Pasadena residents would see technologically enhanced changes in how their trash is handled under a proposal to equip garbage trucks with AI-powered cameras that can detect trash violations, record pickups and review driver performance — a plan that critics say raises privacy concerns.

Deputy Director of Public Works Thanos Gauthier gave a presentation Wednesday to the Municipal Services Committee as city officials consider vendors for the service. There isn’t a clear timeline of when officials might approve and implement the technology.

The cameras, Gauthier said, would make trash collection more efficient by logging all container pickups, flagging contamination or overloaded containers, and reporting missed stops or when property owners forget to put their trash cans out. When there are violations of SB 1383, a bill aimed at keeping organic waste out of landfills, the cameras would detect the issue, gather photo and video evidence, create reports for CalRecycle and send letters to residents.

Up to eight cameras and a Bird’s Eye View capability would be on each truck, allowing the cameras to capture blind spots, Gauthier said. He argued the cameras would help prevent crashes and also provide evidence in disputes with community members who claim a truck hit them when it didn’t, something Gauthier said happens frequently.

“We actually drive over 400,000 miles a year, our division,” Gauthier said, “and that’s a lot of time on the road in a very crowded city, so this is an excellent tool to help reduce some of the risk and liability the city faces running its collection route.”

Privacy advocates, including Yadi Younse of Pasadena Privacy, argue the proposal is an unnecessary use of technology that leads to fears of surveillance. The technology, she said, might be a more efficient way for city officials to address issues, but they could create further problems for residents.

After garbage truck cameras from City Detect rolled out in Dallas, they photographed more than 20,000 potential code violations in four months, according to the Dallas Observer. Of those photographs, the city issued 57 violations at 34 properties after city staff reviewed the violations the cameras flagged. Last year, city officials in Huntsville, Alabama, decided not to implement cameras from City Detect after pushback from community members with privacy concerns.

If Pasadena gets the cameras, Younse said, she worries the community will deal with an influx of citations that could cost residents who may not have the time or resources to push back when the AI technology gets something wrong.

“This system increases exponentially the number of code violations that could be captured by the system,” Younse said. “That’s very concerning that now you’re at greater risk for more fees and fines.”

Gauthier said continuous footage of a truck’s route wouldn’t be uploaded to the cloud storage system, but each truck would retain its data for 10 to 14 days. AI would detect unsafe driving or crashes, automatically alert the driver and send the evidence recording to a cloud system owned by the vendor that managers can view.

Recordings would also be uploaded to cloud storage anytime a truck’s arm goes out to pick up a garbage container and when the truck dumps trash to search for potential contamination. Specific event recordings that officials want to save can be kept in the cloud storage for six months to a year.

Garbage truck cameras would not have automatic license plate reader or facial recognition capabilities, Gauthier said. Data would be owned by the city and not publicly shared or stored, he said.

“While there are cameras around the truck, the majority of the work is going to be done in the hopper with contamination and on the side to ensure that we’ve either picked up the proper can or there’s no can out for service,” Gauthier said. “We’re not running a public or a neighborhood camera campaign.”

Vendors offer livestreaming for real-time monitoring of drivers and trash routes, though Gauthier said he wouldn’t recommend that service for Pasadena’s purposes.

Pasadena Parking Manager John Hamblen also laid out a plan for city parking enforcement staff to be equipped with body-worn cameras meant to document interactions between staff and the public. Hamblen estimated parking officials receive several complaints each month that he said are difficult to investigate when there’s no record of the situation that must be brought to higher level officials. Officials also hope the cameras would help keep parking staff safe during tense interactions with the public.

The cameras, he said, would not be used for continuous monitoring or surveillance, but staff would be required to turn on their body-worn cameras during any interaction with the public and before impounding a vehicle. Under the proposed policy, data from the cameras would be retained for a year and could be reviewed to prepare for court appearances, write reports and investigate complaints among other uses.

Transportation officials are searching for a vendor for the body-worn cameras. Members of the Municipal Services Committee suggested staff research how they could reduce the video retention period for the body-worn cameras as they move forward.

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