The other route.

A number of industries across this country slip under the radar for most Americans, despite forming the backbone of the modern economy. Waste collection is one of them. Everyone pays for it, very few understand how it actually works, and even fewer want to do anything about it.

The United States generates 292 million tons of municipal solid waste every year, and just over 20 percent of it is recycled. The infrastructure and logistics behind moving, disposing of, and recycling that material are enormous, and they are nearing a tipping point. The average garbage truck driver is 48 years old, and more than 72 percent of drivers are over 40. The industry cannot find the labor it needs, from national haulers all the way down to mom-and-pop shops. And the people still doing this work are putting their lives on the line: waste collection ranks among the five deadliest jobs in America.

In turn, companies are turning away customers, hiking rates, or selling their businesses. This is already happening, and it is consistently getting worse. If it is not solved, the physical world around us will fall into decline. The richest country in the world, unable to keep trash off its streets.

Corvo presents the other route. A path toward a cleaner and safer future, one that improves the tangible quality of life of hundreds of millions of people and strengthens our public infrastructure. Building the solution is not trivial. But it is critical, and for the first time, it is possible.