CRS
Empowering Businesses to Take Control of Waste
Businesses across the UK are under increasing pressure to reduce landfill reliance, comply with tightening environmental regulations, and hit net-zero targets. For many, however, making the shift toward sustainable waste management is complicated by rising costs, fragmented infrastructure, and an overwhelming amount of legislation.
Circular Resource Specialists (CRS Ltd) offer vital support to companies trying to cut waste costs while improving their environmental footprint. Historically, this support relied on manual audits—interviewing clients, collecting data by hand, and inputting figures into complex spreadsheets to assess opportunities for improvement. The process was impactful but labour-intensive, and CRS recognised a need to modernise.
To move from static consultancy to a scalable, tech-enabled service, CRS approached CEMET with a clear challenge: help them digitise and streamline their process through the creation of a bespoke software solution.
The Digital Solution
Working closely with CRS, CEMET designed and developed a progressive web application (PWA) named HYDL, enabling clients to conduct self-led waste audits directly from their mobile devices. The app replaces time-intensive interviews with an intuitive digital experience that captures key operational data—business type, sites, contractors, bin types, contents, collection frequency, contamination levels, and more.
The data is sent to a secure, cloud-hosted database via a purpose-built API-driven back end, forming the basis for automated reports and future predictive analytics. Users receive feedback in the form of dynamic summaries and visual dashboards, highlighting how waste is managed and where savings or efficiencies can be made.
From a user perspective, the experience is straightforward. The Business Overview presents a clear summary of activity across sites, while the Waste Audit feature simplifies data input using sliders, dropdowns, and prompts tailored to small business workflows. The platform also supports multi-site data capture, vital for clients with multiple locations and varying operational patterns.
Design That Drives Behaviour
Designed using principles of Material Design, the interface reduces cognitive load through clear visual hierarchies, recognisable patterns, and friendly visual elements. Interactive elements are large, accessible, and mobile-optimised—supporting real-world use in fast-paced environments like warehouses or shop floors.
From the start, the design philosophy focused on more than just usability. HYDL aims to encourage behaviour change, using feedback loops to create positive reinforcement and build routine habits. Weekly audits generate regular reports, prompting users to stay engaged and track their progress over time.
CEMET also worked to ensure the platform would be scalable. All data is stored securely in the cloud, laying the groundwork for future integration of machine learning models that can identify waste trends and offer increasingly tailored recommendations to clients.
Real-World Impact
With the HYDL app, CRS Ltd now has a powerful tool to support their clients digitally, reducing their reliance on manual audits while expanding their service capacity. Businesses can access insights on their own terms, engage more regularly with waste reporting, and begin making smarter, more sustainable decisions without needing specialist knowledge.
CRS have successfully transformed their internal consultancy expertise into a scalable, modern platform—backed by solid technical infrastructure and thoughtful UX design. The outcome is not just a prototype but a launchpad for digital innovation in the sustainability space.
“Circular Resource Specialists (CRS) have worked with CEMET to create a web app to support our business. Coming from a non-technical background, CEMET’s knowledge and expertise has been invaluable, and they have guided and supported us on our journey from our initial idea towards providing a fully-fledged application that we can share with our customers. Outputs are always of the highest quality and have enabled us to move on and grow our business. We look forward to continuing working with CEMET in the future.”
This digital transformation enables CRS to offer a more comprehensive and efficient waste management solution, positioning them at the forefront of innovation in the sector and strengthening their mission to help businesses reduce costs and environmental impact.
CEMET is proud to continue to support CRS through the development of this project. To find out more about their latest work visit their website
This project is jointly funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Vale of Glamorgan.
