IoT for Waste Management in Smart City
The Internet of Things (IoT) framework is fundamental for developing smart city applications by monitoring and evaluating municipal operations in real time. Solid waste management is one of the most critical challenges connected with smart city applications, and mistakes in its processes can have detrimental effects on our society's health and the environment.
The conventional waste management method starts with rubbish generated by municipal inhabitants and deposited in garbage cans at the source. Garbage is collected and sent to recycling sites on a regular basis by municipal department trucks.??
Outdoor containers are not monitored by municipalities or trash management firms, making it hard to know when they need to be cleaned or when they are full.
According to the United Nations, 68 percent of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. In only 30 years, billions of people will be migrating to some of the most densely inhabited areas on the planet.
Cities in North America are among the worst offenders when it comes to global greenhouse gas emissions. There is more waste than ever before, and with the recycling sector in a state of emergency due to high levels of material contamination, smart tech integrations offer improved solutions to many of these issues.
Smart Waste Management Solutions
Although the United States has just 4% of the world population, it produces 12% of all municipal solid waste (MSW) on the planet. Every day, Americans generate 700,000 tons of garbage. Despite the fact that recycling, commercial composting, and waste-to-energy facilities have been operating since the 1960s, landfills still account for 65 percent of municipal solid trash in the United States.
Residents of New York, for example, recycle just 17% of their total garbage. Recycling rates in Chicago are just above 8.8%.
San Francisco: Recycling & Composting Technologies
About 80% of San Francisco’s garbage is diverted from landfills, with the goal of being "zero waste" by the end of 2020. San Francisco's recycling and composting systems now use technology in addition to stringent laws and hefty waste management costs for end users and companies. To begin, the city teamed up with Recology, a business that just invested $20 million in retrofitting its materials recovery facilities (MRFs).?
Recology uses optical sorters, robotics, and a machine vision system to assess the efficacy of sorting equipment and recover plastic that would otherwise be lost. Following that, San Francisco installed Nordsense waste level sensors in trash bins along key commercial routes. Municipal officials were able to minimize the number of overflowing containers by 80% while also lowering operational costs.
New Jersey: Resident Recycling Network
Recycling network technology has been introduced in the township of East Brunswick to increase interactions between municipalities and local citizens. They were able to boost recycling rates, minimize wish-cycling, and raise the recycling IQ of their whole town by implementing the Recycle Coach app, which connected all of their residents.
Songdo City: Truck-Free Waste Management
A truck-free waste disposal system connects the Songdo International Business District, which was built on 600 hectares of reclaimed ground near the Yellow Sea. The solution includes sensor-equipped garbage bins and pneumatic pipes that suck waste directly from premises, sort organic and non-organic waste, and transport it to a fully automated waste collecting plant through an underground network of pipes and tunnels.
Amsterdam: Sensors for Waste Containers and Trucks
Another example is Amsterdam, the smartest city in Europe. In 2014, Amsterdam fitted garbage pickup vehicles with a weighing device that instantly understands how much a container weighs and can anticipate fill levels with 80-90 percent accuracy based on past data. The city also placed 12,500 Enevo fill-level sensors in trash cans and put the system through its paces with plastic garbage. Amsterdam aims to save yearly trash collection expenses by €3 million with the scale of the IoT solution from testing to full implementation.
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Santander: RFID Tags in Containers
A comparable approach is in use in Santander, a popular tourist destination in Spain. The city collects real-time data on garbage levels in bins and containers using 6,000 sensors and RFID and NFC tags.
Why IoT-Based Waste Management Systems are Worth the Investment
By 2025, the quantity of waste generated by city inhabitants is expected to exceed six million tons. The cost of waste disposal is also rising; the World Bank estimates that worldwide rubbish collection charges would reach $375 billion in five years.
Most high-income regions, on the other hand, charge fees to pay only a portion of their waste management costs. The remainder is in the form of tax incentives, which has a negative impact on local government finances.
There is substantial evidence that IoT services reduce bin collection frequency,? decrease total trash collection costs, and reduce carbon emissions in cities. While certain cities are better positioned to adopt smart waste management solutions at scale (think Amsterdam with its ubiquitous wireless connectivity, open city data, and startup centers), the long-awaited 5G rollout and falling prices of sensor devices might offer smart city projects throughout the world a much-needed boost.
Structure of IoT-Based Waste Management Systems?
Endpoint devices (sensors), gateways, cloud platforms, and web and mobile apps are common components of IoT-driven waste management solutions deployed in smart cities.
Waste bins and dumpsters are equipped with solar or battery-powered ultrasonic sensors.
The sensors use ultrasonic sound waves to monitor waste levels.
They then use low-power or cellular connection to send the data to the gateway. Sensing devices can either connect directly with the gateway (star networks) or transfer data to nearby nodes (mesh networks).
Such systems aid cities in reducing road congestion, lowering CO2 emissions, and lowering trash management expenses, which in most developing nations account for up to 50% of municipal budgets.
At recycling centers, solutions like the SAGE Automation Bulk Redemption Terminal take over trash sorting processes. AMP Robotics' Neuron computer vision system detects recyclable items on conveyor belts and alerts MRF employees. Self-service kiosks for consumer electronics also assist individuals in disposing of old gadgets in an environmentally responsible manner.
Bottom Line
It is?imperative that smart cities like these continue to push the limits of trash management. We are sure that digital technology will significantly redefine how we deal with garbage in our cities, from recycling network innovation to sensor technology and smart sorting procedures.