Systems and methods for identifying and collecting banned waste

A method for authorizing a collection vehicle to remove waste item from a site, comprising:

• reading identification information from an identification tag associated with the waste item;
• wirelessly transmitting the identification information from the collection vehicle to a remote computer for processing;
• and
• receiving wirelessly at the collection vehicle an indication of whether the waste item should be collected and removed by the collection vehicle based on i) at least one hazardous characteristic associated with the identified waste item, ii) a determination that the waste collection vehicle is authorized to collect the waste item having the at least one hazardous characteristic, and iii) a determination that a driver of the collection vehicle is authorized to collect the waste item having the at least one hazardous characteristic.

A waste collection vehicle, comprising:

• a reader configured to obtain identification information from an identification tag associated with the waste item;
• and
• at least one data repository that utilizes the identification information to determine whether the waste item should be collected and removed by the waste collection vehicle based on:
• i) at least one hazardous characteristic associated with the identified waste item, ii) a determination that the waste collection vehicle is authorized to collect the waste item having the at least one hazardous characteristic, and iii) a determination that a driver of the waste collection vehicle is authorized to collect the waste item having the at least one hazardous characteristic.