The Recycle Smart Monitoring System™ (RSMS) provides a method to measure the fullness of a recycling bins. The Topper Stopper™ units equipped with RSMS determine the depth of an empty bin, then check the bin depth at specified intervals. Notifications are sent out via text message and/or email when bins reach a specified level of fullness. This works on varying sizes of bins because the system obtains the depth each time a bin is emptied (or replaced).