In the smart city, transport, energy, water management and waste management are targeted sectors that are likely to be reinforced by technologies to improve the lives of residents. In order to offer a better respect for the environment and a healthier life for citizens, smart waste management is necessary. Investing in the latter involves, among other things, innovation in community technologies to make it easier for residents to recycle their waste.
What are the challenges of waste management?
The optimization of waste management in the smart city represents a significant challenge for local authorities. It aims to have a more positive impact on the environment and on the territory. It also involves managing the costs inherent in waste management and reducing energy expenditure in general.
These new solutions imply the need to evaluate the rate of waste deposited, the consumption of the population in order to estimate the sorting needs and increase the volume of waste collection and recycling, as well as the use of new technologies to limit collection rounds and promote the renewal of the energy used by the collection.
Smart city: towards smart waste management?
Just like mobility issues in the smart city, better waste collection management has a direct beneficial impact on the ecological and environmental aspect of the territory, as well as on the well-being of the inhabitants. The implementation of a smart system to optimize the means of transport for collections, such as connected trucks, offers the possibility of obtaining precise data on the rounds or on the rate of filling of the dustbins in real time.
This smart system measures the volume of garbage with sensors connected directly to the RRPs.
The analysis of the data transmitted makes it possible to adapt the collection and vehicle routes according to the needs of the population. The installation of ultrasonic waste weight sensors allows a more accurate evaluation of the data, but generates additional investment costs that must be taken into account in the innovation of the waste management system.
The use of smart technologies in smart city buildings results in energy savings and a better quality of life for residents. The use of a smart waste sorting solution represents a significant reduction in the environmental footprint of connected cities. Among the innovative solutions already in operation in some cities is the method of garbage collection by means of an underground pneumatic circuit.
This solution consists of making containers available to residents so that they can dispose of their various types of waste, which are then transported directly to a sorting centre using underground pipes.
Another possibility used in some countries is the recycling of certain types of waste, which makes it possible to redistribute the energy by supplying electricity or heating in residential buildings or professional offices.