IN = OUT
One business's OUT is another business's IN.
solve waste.
IN = OUT is building a record of what local businesses take in and throw out, material by material, so the leftovers can go to someone who will use them.
OUTa = INb · find a, find b
§1
Waste is an information problem
A framing shop bins mat board offcuts every week. Down the street, a school buys card stock for art class. The material that one place pays to get rid of is the material another place pays to buy.
Nobody connects the two because nobody has the list. There is no record of what each business actually produces, how much, or how often. IN = OUT starts by writing that list down.
§2
Why now, in Hamilton
Ontario has moved Blue Box recycling over to the companies that make the packaging, and that program covers homes only. The City of Hamilton plans to stop collecting business recycling at the end of 2026.
After that, a business either pays a private hauler or sends its cardboard and glass to landfill. Knowing exactly what you throw out, and who might want it, becomes a cost question, not a feel-good one.
§3
How an audit works
One question first
“Which OUT would you most like someone to take off your hands?” That answer sets the priority.
A checklist for your industry
Tap what your business has from a list of what similar businesses usually have, with typical amounts you can nudge up or down.
Real counts over time
Photos and counts sharpen the numbers on later visits. Every amount is labelled as observed, reported, estimated or projected, so a guess never passes for a measurement.
§4
Database first, solutions later
IN = OUT does not haul, store or broker anything. It is information: who has what, and who takes what. The businesses arrange the rest directly.
The first job is getting the numbers right. Matching comes after. Haulers, recyclers and makers will be listed like any other business, by the INs they take, and businesses will be able to post a standing offer, such as “free boxes, back door, Tuesdays 4 to 6”.
§5
The Hamilton pilot
The pilot is about 10 Hamilton businesses, audited in person. It starts with picture framing shops, then print and sign shops, then the places likely to take their leftovers.
status: in progress · no numbers published yet
§6
Privacy
- A business's records are private by default. Only that business and the IN = OUT audit team can see them.
- Industry checklists are built from combined totals, never from who recorded what.
- A material is public only if the business chooses to post it, one material at a time.
- Data is stored in Canada.
§7
Access
Run a business in Hamilton? Sign up for a free audit. During the pilot each sign-up is approved by hand, and your business sees only its own records. It is free for businesses.