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Automation ROI Proposal

Prepared for
—

10-Year Total Cost of Ownership · Manual vs. Automated Collection
10-Year Net Present Value
—
Discounted at — % / yr
Break-Even Year
—
When cumulative savings ≥ 0
Annual Savings (steady-state)
—
After equipment paid off
Crew Reduction
—
From — to — staff

Executive Summary

—

Fleet Comparison

Current State

Manual Rear-Loader
Fleet size—
Crew—
Monthly cost—
Cost / home / month—

Proposed

Automated Side-Loader
Fleet size—
Crew—
Monthly cost (steady-state)—
Cost / home / month—
Methodology. Cost-per-truck financing via standard PMT amortization. Labor and maintenance escalated annually under conservative assumptions. Soft savings (workers' comp, injury claims, supervision) optionally included. NPV computed at the user-specified discount rate. Detailed cash flow, charts, and assumption sources on the following pages and in the accompanying methodology document.

BEST EQUIPMENT CO.   ·   Prepared with the Trash Collection Automation ROI Calculator   ·   Inputs editable per scenario.
Best Equipment Co. · ROI Analysis

Trash Collection Automation Calculator

Manual rear-load vs. fully automated side-load · 10-year total cost of ownership

Crew Reduction
—
Manual − Automated
Break-Even
—
Year cumulative ≥ 0
10-Year NPV
—
Discounted @ —%
10-Year Cumulative (Nominal)
—
Includes all costs
Community size:
1 Project & Waste Volume ▼
lbs/wk
t/yd³
tons/wk
Operation includes a separate recycling route Models a second collection stream with its own fleet, crew, and equipment
2 Labor Rates ▼
$ /hr
$ /hr
%
3 Manual Rear-Loader Specs ▼
$
%
yd³
:1
$ /mo · truck
4 Automated Side-Loader Specs ▼
$
%
yd³
:1
%
5 Financing & Containers ▼
months
$
months
6 Soft Savings (Optional) ▼
Include soft savings in ROI Workers' comp, injuries, supervision, attendance — off by default for a conservative baseline.
$ /yr
$
%
$ /yr
$ /yr · job
7 Financial Assumptions (NPV & Escalation) ▼
% / yr
% / yr
% / yr
% / yr
8 Year 1 Transition Costs (One-Time) ▼

One-time costs incurred only in Year 1 of the rollout. These are real expenses that every automation conversion has but that simple ROI models often skip.

$ / HH
$
$ / operator
$

Scenario Comparison

Steady-state monthly savings —
Current State
Rear LoaderManual Collection
Monthly Cost
—
—
Crew
—
Fleet
—
Monthly cost breakdown
Labor —
Equipment payment —
Containers —
Maintenance & fuel —
Annual total —
VS
Proposed
Automated Side LoaderSingle-Operator Collection
Monthly · Yrs 1–5
—
—
Monthly · Yrs 6+ (paid off)
—
—
Crew
—
Fleet
—
Monthly cost breakdown (Yrs 1–5)
Labor —
Equipment payment —
Container payment —
Maintenance & fuel —
Annual (paid off) —

Soft Savings (Annual) —

Workers' compensation premium reduction —
Injury / lost-day claims avoided —
Reduced supervision overhead —
Attendance / turnover improvement —
Cumulative Savings vs. Manual · 10 Years Hard only + Soft savings
Monthly Cost Composition Labor Equipment Containers Maintenance
Cost per Home per Month · 10-Year Trajectory Manual rear-loader Automated side-loader
Monthly cost per household, year by year. The automated line includes financed equipment + containers in early years and drops once those are paid off. Crossover (when automated becomes cheaper) is the year the municipality starts billing residents less than today.

Comparable Communities

Publicly-cited automation outcomes from similar municipalities
All references sourced from the city's own materials or established public-radio / trade-press reporting. Click "Source ↗" on any tile to verify. Edit PEER_REFERENCES near the top of the script to add Best Equipment Co. customer outcomes alongside these.
10-Year Cash-Flow Detail
Year Manual Automated Hard Δ Soft Δ Total Δ Cumulative
★ Break-even year · Years marked “(financed)” include equipment & container payments.

Methodology & Assumptions

  • Truck count = max(stops constraint, payload constraint) + backup trucks. Override to match an existing fleet.
  • Payload per vehicle = body capacity × compaction ratio × waste density (loose).
  • Equipment & containers amortized via standard PMT formula; payments end after the finance term.
  • Labor cost = (driver wage × drivers + helper wage × helpers) × (1 + fringe%) × monthly hours.
  • Soft savings are estimates; tune to your municipality's actuals for a defensible proposal number.
  • Inflation, fuel-price escalation, and trade-in residuals are not modeled — savings beyond Year 5 are conservative.
  • To match a specific reference spreadsheet exactly, use the "Trucks Override" fields and set helpers/truck to reflect that staffing plan — the recommended truck count uses the stricter of the stops and payload constraints, which can be 1 fewer than a fleet sized for route flexibility.
↳ Open methodology document (PDF)   ·   ↳ Internal: reconcile to source spreadsheet
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