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It’s not a new story these days – technology comes in and sends spasms of change through an industry that’s operated the same way for years.

Except in this case, the standard disruption story is different. It’s now how one smart company created by some relatively young entrepreneurs is transforming an industry that, essentially, hadn’t changed in a century and that no one thought would ever use technology.

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RecycleSmart, a Vancouver-based company that has gone national in the past year, has been growing exponentially by using technology to disrupt the calcified industry of trash pickup and disposal.

The company was created as a part-time service in nearby Squamish, B.C. in 2008 by a husband-and-wife pair of consultants, Colin Bell and Jaclyn McPhadden. It picked up recyclable trash from businesses that operated in the mountain town famed for its skiing and other outdoor pursuits.

It moved into Vancouver and became a full-time business serving hotels after Bell, consulting at the venerable Hotel Vancouver, noticed how much waste was generated and rarely recycled. Subsequently, he discovered that the hotel had little insight into how much it actually paid for its waste pickup services – for example, fees never varied, despite fluctuating needs and service. Recycling was non-existent.