On the occasion of Global Recycling Day 2023, we asked how IoT technologies can be used for smart waste management by managing the recycling and disposal phase at the end of the product’s life.

According to the Italian Recycling Report 2022, Italy recycled 72% of all municipal and special-industrial waste in 2020, achieving a European record as the EU average is 53%.

Companies in the waste sector must be able to streamline processes and reduce consumption to be sustainable, not only from an environmental but also from an economic point of view.

In this blog post, we will discuss how recycling processes can be made efficient through IoT and smart waste management.

Read on if you want to learn more!

Global Recycling Day

World Recycling Day is celebrated on 18 March yearly and was established in 2018 by the Global Recycling Foundation. The initiative was created to share best practices in reducing CO2 emissions generated by producing new objects (but also from landfills) and to raise awareness of the importance of recycling one’s own waste.

A day that takes stock of an essential issue of resources and the need to see waste as an opportunity and no longer as something unusable. Is it possible to exploit IoT solutions for smart waste management?

The problems of waste companies

The prominent problem recycling companies face is the need for more confidence in the quality of recycled materials and the potential health risk for the workers who use them.

It is, therefore, necessary to stimulate the demand for recycled materials and waste management businesses. Monitoring results in real-time, collecting reliable statistics across the EU, and efficiently reducing environmental impacts using resources is crucial.

How can companies do this without reducing the quality of end products?

IoT technologies and Smart waste management can be the solution. Let’s see how.

The benefits of IoT technologies for smart waste management

IoT solutions for waste management are not only used by waste collection and disposal companies but also by collection centers and landfills that use them for miasma reduction, biogas capture, and leachate level monitoring.

But how does smart waste management through IoT work in practice? First, many sensors are used and connected to the machinery and equipment, making them capable of collecting vital data for forecasting, process optimization, and strategic decision-making.

The significant benefits for companies in this sector are:

• Identifying optimal methodologies
• An up-to-date overview of machinery position and status
• Efficient planning of waste management activities
• Safe waste transport process
• Monitoring of pumps, wells, and the entire operation process

If you want to learn more about how IoT technologies benefit smart waste management, here is a link to our in-depth white paper.

Zerynth and smart waste management

Concerning waste companies, Zerynth’s Industrial IoT and AI platform can support companies in smart waste management by remotely monitoring waste and collecting information about temperature, humidity, toxic fumes, radiation, and additional parameters needed by the company to control production.

The information collected can be viewed anytime, even remotely, on dashboards. In addition, the data is stored and is always available for information flow control, process analysis, and reporting.

Fig. 1 Example of a Zerynth dashboard in a company in the waste sector

To learn more about the application of IoT and AI systems to waste companies, you can read the case study of ESA, which chose Zerynth solutions to support its journey towards greater environmental sustainability through smart waste management.

Zerynth solutions enable production and energy efficiency, enabling greater sustainability from both an environmental and economic perspective.