Inventions in Smart Waste Management

To save money and lessen their environmental impact, cities worldwide are deploying innovative trash management technologies.

FREMONT, CA: Smart waste management refers to any system that makes trash collection more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally beneficial through technology. Most of these systems incorporate the Internet of Things (IoT), a monitoring technology that collects and monitors real-time data to aid in waste collection optimization and inspire future innovation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that over 75 percent of waste generated in the United States is recyclable, but only about 30 percent of recyclable materials are recycled. Given that people generate somewhat more than 2 billion tonnes of rubbish each year, that's a lot of waste that ends up in the world's landfills and rivers.

The world's trash problem is not going away anytime soon, and traditional waste management systems are unprepared to handle the additional trash generated by rising populations. Towns must implement intelligent waste management systems that boost efficiency, reduce collection costs, and redirect more trash away from landfills to close the gap.

The first step toward developing efficient, sustainable waste management systems is to understand why the current methods are ineffective. The following technologies combine IoT data analytics with current solutions to assist organizations in identifying and overcoming obstacles.

Intelligent Waste Bin: When left to their own devices, individuals frequently neglect to separate their rubbish into the appropriate waste or recycling receptacles. To help prevent improper recycling sorting, the Polish business Bin-e developed a smart waste bin that automatically sorts recyclables into different compartments using artificial intelligence-based object identification. Following sorting, the machine compresses the garbage and keeps track of the waste in each container.

Intelligent waste bins eliminate human mistakes during the first sorting process, allowing recycling to process materials more quickly and efficiently. This can result in up to an 80 percent reduction in waste management expenses and a significant increase in employee efficiency.

Sensors for Waste Levels: Across the country, residents and businesses rely on routine waste collection services to dispose of their trash. While weekly services have existed for decades, they are not necessarily the most cost-effective alternative.

Businesses and municipalities can install garbage level sensors in bins or dumpsters of any size to help reduce wasteful journeys to and from landfills. These devices capture and store information on bin fill levels, enabling collection agencies to forecast when bins should be emptied. Additionally, this helps prevent overflowing public containers from contaminating the surrounding region.

Recycling Robots Powered by Artificial Intelligence: Recycling facilities significantly reduce the trash that ends up in landfills and rivers each year. However, because of a reduction in labor during the COVID-19 pandemic, several facilities cannot meet demand. Fortunately, artificial intelligence-powered recycling robots can help pick up some of the slack.

These robots are meant to reliably identify and sort recyclable items, increasing efficiency and decreasing the need for human labor. This saves recycling centers money in the long run and helps divert goods from landfills.