Investigating Efficient Municipal Solid Waste Collection Through Technology

As cities around the world rise in population, the issue of safely handling Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) also grows. Waste management methods and processes used by waste managers need to be improved to handle growing levels of MSW in a safe, effective, and timely manner. More cities worldwide are building data collection network architectures as part of ‘Smart Cities' initiatives. As a result, the use of technology to capture environmental data from waste bins has increased in recent years. This paper presents an overview of a proposed waste management research study that aims to demonstrate how collecting specific environmental data from public waste bins enables waste managers to decide the best method of collecting MSW. The proposed research study is to be performed within the City of Onkaparinga, a local council in South Australia. The study highlights that meaningful environmental data can be collected through the design of a wireless technology with multiple sensors placed in public waste bins. The analysis of the collected data will enable waste managers to make informed decisions on the most effective and efficient method of collecting MSW. In addition, this will help waste managers to devise better and efficient waste management processes and procedures.