Megan Quinn
9 min read
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WM President and Chief Operating Officer John Morris remembers driving his first waste vehicles in college, a time when riding on the back of the truck was standard and “the only air conditioning was rolling the windows down.”
Today, Morris oversees field operations for the company, which has a fleet of over 18,000 collection vehicles and a suite of technologies to make those vehicles safer and more efficient. “The technology that's in these trucks is light years ahead of where it was,” he said.
Morris was appointed president of WM last week. He’ll continue his field operations role, and multiple executives, including those leading sustainability, customer experience and enterprise strategy, will now report to him. Morris has previously served as market area general manager of New York City, area vice president of the greater Mid-Atlantic Area, chief strategy officer, and senior vice president of field operations.
Morris says the company has been strategic about how it adopts and rolls out the latest tech upgrades. The industry struggles to retain labor, he said, and the right investments are helping WM become less labor dependent. At the same time, it also provides opportunities to retain employees by providing vehicles and facilities that are safer and more comfortable than before.
“When we buy more expensive, sophisticated trucks, it costs more to maintain them, but the overall benefit to the business is something we’re comfortable with,” he said. “First and foremost, I want to be safe. But we're also in business to be profitable, not just efficient.”
Morris sat down with Waste Dive on May 6, during WasteExpo in Las Vegas, to discuss how WM is adding AI upgrades to its existing technology, improving on longtime cab technology and piloting new programs for heavy equipment operators. He also discussed pilot programs for using autonomous vehicle technology at landfills. WM CEO Jim Fish has previously called for a “significant percentage” of WM’s heavy equipment fleet be autonomous by 2030.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
JOHN MORRIS: AI is helping inform the business better and helping us operate more efficiently. We’ve had forms of artificial intelligence in the business for probably eight or 10 years.
