One of the main challenges of current municipalities is the increasing costs of waste recycling and the increasing EU goals for recycling rates each year. This paper introduces a novel approach to the detection of waste contamination early in the waste stream using radar detection and artificial intelligence. The emphasis is on the data collection stage that represents an important step in de-signing accurate detection models. The proposal focusses on identifying key components necessary for capturing video and radar data directly on the waste collection line. A data collection pipeline was outlined to obtain comprehensive data sets containing the waste contaminants contained in municipal waste collection facilities. Initial data analyses were carried out to describe the collected data and required data processing to obtain data suitable for artificial intelligence models. The proposed paper represents an initial step to advance our understanding of how artificial intelligence can enhance radar sensor capabilities in the detection of waste contamination.