People recognize the health and environmental hazards posed by household waste; however, in most cases there is a clear gap between awareness and actionable behavior in appropriate disposal and recycling. This gap relates to inefficient municipal waste collection systems, the limited knowledge of recycling methods and rules, and a bit of laziness.
Municipal waste management is still a challenge for many countries and cities around the world. As reported by the World Bank, every year over 2 billion metric tons of municipal waste are generated globally. About 23% of waste goes uncollected, and 33% is openly dumped. In low-income countries data are even more worrisome: 60% of solid waste remains uncollected, and 93% is improperly managed – either dumped, buried, or thrown into waterways.
The impressive volume of improperly managed waste is a serious issue for human health, the environment, and economies. Uncollected waste, open dumping and burning, and unsanitary landfills contaminate drinking water, pollute air and spread diseases. Solid waste and plastics can clog street drains and storm water evacuation infrastructure, further exacerbating the risk of urban flooding. Moreover, municipal solid waste is responsible for up to 20% of global human-related methane emissions and 5% of GHG emissions. The effect of land-based solid waste extends to the ocean, with 80% of plastic in oceans comes from poorly managed municipal solid waste on land.
Preventing distortions in municipal waste management, including efficient collection and recycling, is thus crucial. Waste operators are working hard to prevent or reduce disruptions due to rising operational costs and shortage of staff, and implement effective yet user-friendly separation and recycling systems.
Smart IoT technologies can highly contribute to municipal waste collection and management. By equipping waste bins with 6LoWPAN sensors, it is possible to collect and send data about filling levels and monitor adverse events such as fire, vandalism, or unauthorized bin movements.
Based on historical data provided by the sensors, filling levels can be predicted to assess when each bin will need to be emptied. This allows waste operators to dispatch trucks when the bins are close to full (or when the city prefers), following an optimized routing.
At the end of the day, Smart Waste solutions enable cities to optimize municipal waste collection and the process of route-planning and scheduling for trucks, reducing the number of truck rolls and the mileage associated with them, which in turn reduces the fleet carbon footprint and urban congestion.
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