A new service which allows residents to check when their waste and recycling will be collected and help to log a missed collection has been launched. Monmouthshire County Council’s new skill, for those using the voice-enabled digital assistant Alexa, allows residents to access information relating to their waste collections by simply asking their Alexa device questions such as ‘when is my next recycling collection?’
The skill, which has been built and developed by We Build Bots makes up part of wider offerings to residents providing convenient and advanced methods of checking important information such as waste collections. The creation and implementation of the compatible Alexa skill has been a number of years in the making and was initiated as a new way to provide information to residents where there is a high number of queries in relation to one particular service area. The Alexa skill is offered alongside other methods of contact including ‘Monty,’ the council’s chatbot service, which can be accessed on the web or via Facebook Messenger, and the contact centre.
The new technological advancement is just one of a number of developments and improvements the council’s Digital Design Team will be making to its digital services that will improve customer experience and, specifically, queries relating to recycling and waste service areas due to the high level of demand. The work also follows a number of projects aimed at improving the way Monmouthshire residents interact with the council to ensure everyone, no matter what their digital ability, has the tools needed to access important services.
Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Phil Murphy said: “I’m delighted we have been able to launch this service, allowing people to find out information relating to waste and recycling by simply asking a question. We have seen rapid developments in artificial intelligence and the technology to support it in recent years, allowing us to do average tasks more simply and efficiently. We pride ourselves on being a forward thinking authority and exploring new technologies to help provide better services for our residents is just one of many ways we look to keep moving with the times. As Christmas approaches, there’s no doubt many residents may receive a gift of a new ‘smart’ device such as Alexa from loved ones, so I hope to see more residents using this brilliant new service.”
The Alexa skill can be accessed by logging into the Alexa app and enabling the skill.
