The start of ‘smartification’ is merging itself into the various prospects of sustainability that entail smart waste management solutions. With the speedy availability and discovery of smart waste management technologies, waste gathering is also developing into a greener and much more efficient economic system. Prominent tech implementations include robots, sensor technology, and many more. Local authorities are also constantly taking leverage of smart solutions to avoid planet Earth from turning into a trash planet.
Introduction
By 2050, global waste is projected to reach 4 billion tons, increasing what it was in 2016. The fast upsurge ties back to increasing urban populations and growth in consumer culture over the past few years, neither of which is decreasing any time soon. For decreasing the strain this is enforcing on the surrounding and collecting waste services, several communities over the globe are moving towards smart waste management solutions and technologies.
What is smart waste management?
Smart waste operation implies any system that incorporates technology to make trash collection more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. Most of these systems are implemented with the Internet of Things (IoT), an observation technology that gathers and tracks real-time records, for helping in optimizing waste collection and goad future innovation.
Innovative technologies revolutionizing waste management
The following technologies are combining IoT data analytics with conventional solutions to facilitate identifying challenges and enhance as they go.
Smart waste bins
When left to their own devices, people don’t always care about distinguishing their waste into labeled waste separation or recycling bins. To help in reducing improper recycling sorting, Polish company Bin-e built a smart waste bin that incorporates artificial intelligence-based object recognition to automatically sort recyclables into separate segments. After categorizing, the machine helps in pressing the waste and monitors how full each bin is.
Moreover, smart waste bins are helping in taking manual mistakes out of the starting distinguishing process, building material processing quicker and simpler for recycling installation. This can decrease waste management costs by as much as 80% and drastically help in improving employee skillfulness.
Waste level sensors
Weekly services have been around for years now, however, they aren’t always the most efficient choice.
Furthermore, to help in decreasing unnecessary trips to and from landfills, organizations and communities are installing waste-level sensors in bins or dumpsters of any size. These devices help in collecting and storing data on fill levels, hence, enabling collection services to project how often bins are required to be emptied. Also, this aids in preventing public containers from overflowing and making the closed area dirty.
Garbage truck weighing mechanisms
Weighing mechanisms installed in garbage trucks, like waste level sensors, can assist in predicting fill levels and mitigating collection trips. On the other hand, they perform this by calculating and storing the weight of waste containers, then utilizing the data to anticipate fill levels over time. Furthermore, cities can integrate this technology to more precisely forecast how often they need to send their trucks out and mitigate annual collection costs.
Pneumatic waste pipes
Since the number of people is increasing in urban cities, so does the necessity for smart waste management solutions that are able to adapt to increasing numbers of trash. Whereas, some cities are taking on this situation by installing pneumatic waste disposal bins connected to a series of underground pipes. Further, trash moves through the pipes to a waste collection plant where it can be classified or pulled away. This system helps in eradicating the demand for old-fashioned waste collection, mitigates energy costs, and boosts overall efficiency.
Solar-powered trash compactors
In an attempt to boost waste collection efficiency and reduce trips to and from the dump, manufacturer Ecube Labs have built a solar-powered trash compactor that can keep up to five times more than conventional trash bins. These machines are operated by compressing trash as it gathers to maximize bin capacity, and they collect and send data on fill and collection times to aid in streamlining the collection process.
Recycling apps
Classifying contaminated waste is one of the toughest challenges for recycling centers. More so, in an attempt for mitigating unrecyclable materials entering these centers, companies are developing apps like RecycleNation and iRecycle that are building recycling easier for individuals. These apps help in providing users with data on recycling rates and center locations, and their extensive lists of materials facilitate users in determining which items can be recycled.
Final Thoughts
The idea of constructing smart waste management services that are appropriate for both now and in the future is to implement a data-driven approach into the way we are managing garbage.
With sensors, intelligent routing, digital platforms, and container monitoring, we have all the solutions we are required in order to boost our waste management system.
