Smart Waste Collection System in the Context of Smart Cities

This paper presents the development of a smart bin application, aiming at the upgrade of conventional, already in use bins, transforming them into a vital component of the smart city concept. Special attention has been paid in the cost-effectiveness of the proposed solution, in order to become sustainable. In this context, the use of a popular and low-cost high-performance microcontroller has been employed. Moreover, by means of a touchscreen, a friendly user interface is established, along with the interconnection with the smart city waste management infrastructure; therefore, the optimal route planning for municipality vehicles becomes possible, reducing so the associated costs whereas improving the environmental footprint. In addition, temperature, gas/fire, weight and ultrasonic sensors are also incorporated in the proposed solution, so as to prevent hazards, as well as to provide useful data to the citizens/users. Last but not least, the smart bin is equipped with an energy harvesting system, becoming so a zero-energy solution.