For most of our history, all sorting has happened at a single yard, which meant every route, however far, ended its day with a drive back to one location. A three-month pilot tested whether a second, smaller sorting point in Zimmerman could shorten that trip for our Zimmerman and Hunters routes — and the results were encouraging enough to keep it running.
The problem the pilot was meant to test
As our route grew to cover six villages, the distance between our furthest collection points and our single central sorting yard grew alongside it. For Zimmerman and Hunters specifically, the round trip to the main yard was eating into time that could otherwise go toward an extra half-round of collection or additional buy-back support. The question wasn't whether a second sorting point could theoretically help — it obviously could, on paper — but whether the practical complexity of running two sites was worth the time saved.
How the pilot was structured
Rather than committing to a permanent second facility outright, we set up a smaller, lower-cost sorting point in Zimmerman for a three-month trial period, staffed part-time and used specifically by our Zimmerman and Hunters collection routes. Recyclables were pre-sorted at this smaller point before being consolidated with the main yard's stock ahead of sale to recyclers, so the pilot wouldn't complicate our existing buyer relationships or require negotiating separate arrangements for a second site.
What the pilot actually achieved
Collectors on the Zimmerman and Hunters routes cut roughly forty minutes of transport time from their day, time that's gone directly into an extra half-round of collection rather than sitting idle. That's a meaningful operational gain from a relatively small infrastructure investment, and it validated the basic premise: distance to the main yard was a genuine constraint on route efficiency, not just a minor inconvenience.
What went wrong before it went right
The pilot wasn't without early problems, and it's worth naming them rather than only highlighting the success. In the first weeks, material sat unsorted at the Zimmerman point more often than expected, because we'd underestimated the staffing a second site genuinely needs — a smaller yard doesn't need less attention than the main one, just less of it at any given time, and without a dedicated attendant, sorted and unsorted material began to pile up faster than anticipated. Fixing this meant assigning a specific attendant to the Zimmerman point rather than treating it as a drop-off location collectors could manage informally between rounds.
The staffing lesson, in more detail
This turned out to be the pilot's most important lesson, more significant than the transport-time savings themselves: a second sorting point is a genuine operational site, not simply a closer drop-off location. It needs its own accountable staffing, its own basic process for keeping material organised by type, and its own connection to the logistics that eventually move consolidated material to the main yard. Once that was in place, the site ran smoothly; before it was, the efficiency gains from shorter transport time were partly offset by disorganisation at the new site itself.
What comes next
With the pilot's core staffing issue resolved and the transport-time benefits confirmed, the Zimmerman sorting point is continuing as a standing part of our operation rather than a temporary trial. We're now looking at whether a third point makes sense as Githurai's buy-back activity grows, applying the same lesson directly: any new site needs dedicated staffing built in from day one, not added as a fix after the fact.
What the pilot cost, and how that compared to the time saved
Setting up the Zimmerman sorting point required a modest upfront investment — basic shelter, sorting tables, and the part-time attendant wage once we corrected our initial staffing gap. Weighed against roughly forty minutes of daily transport time recovered across the Zimmerman and Hunters routes, translated into an extra half-round of collection, the pilot paid for itself in operational capacity within the first few weeks of running properly staffed. That kind of clear, measurable return is part of why we're comfortable applying the same model to a potential third site as Githurai's activity grows.
How collectors' daily routines changed
Before the pilot, a Zimmerman or Hunters collector's day ended with the same long drive back to the main yard regardless of how much time remained in a shift. With the Zimmerman point in place and properly staffed, that trip is shorter and more predictable, and collectors describe the change as meaningfully reducing the physical toll of a full day's round, not just the clock time — less time spent transporting heavy, sorted material means more energy available for the collection work itself.
What "keeping it running" actually involves operationally now
Now that the pilot has transitioned into standing operation, maintaining it involves the same basic discipline as any of our sites: a dedicated attendant present on scheduled days, regular check-ins from our operations team to catch any staffing or process drift early, and periodic review of whether Zimmerman and Hunters' combined volume still justifies the site's current staffing level as those routes potentially continue to grow.
Why we're being cautious about calling this an unqualified success
It would be easy to present the Zimmerman pilot as a clean success story now that the staffing issue is resolved, but we're conscious that a full assessment needs more time running under proper staffing before we can be confident the gains are stable rather than an early-period effect that might fade. We're treating the next few months of continued operation as the real test.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Zimmerman sorting point open to the public like a buy-back point?
No, it currently functions as an internal operational site supporting our Zimmerman and Hunters collection routes, rather than a public buy-back point; residents should continue using our four public buy-back points to sell plastic.
Did the second sorting yard change buy-back rates for Zimmerman and Hunters residents?
Not directly, since sorted material is still consolidated and sold through our existing main-yard buyer relationships, though efficiency gains here support the wider system's sustainability.
Could a similar second sorting point be added elsewhere?
Yes, a third site is under consideration as Githurai's activity grows, applying the staffing lessons learned from the Zimmerman pilot.
Curious how this connects to our other infrastructure plans? See our piece on the materials recovery point we're planning next.