Quamtra. Smart Waste Management (RC1)

 LIPASAM’s municipal solid waste collection plan was based on predefined routes, established by past service experience. This method resulted in unnecessary costs and underutilization of resources. Empty containers were often collected, while other containers would overflow causing an increase in cleaning costs and discontent among citizens. With this scenario in mind, LIPASAM sought a system that would optimize its waste management. The LIFE EWAS project represented a perfect opportunity to implement ICT solutions that help public companies achieve improvement milestones. 

 The technological solution used was Quamtra, a system developed entirely by Wellness Smart Cities & Solutions that includes a hardware  device for both measuring waste container fill level and collecting  data, and a software platform for data management and visualization. The hardware’s sensors measure fill level through a configurable ultrasound beam,  determining the distance between the top of the waste and the device,  which is placed in the internal upper region of the container. In  addition to this volumetric measurement, Quamtra’s sensors incorporate other 

 In the Seville’s case, a total of 268 containers were  monitored: 215 side loading glass containers in 3 cyclical collection  routes, 29 underground plastic, and glass containers, and 24 with  different waste materials to test the device’s validity. features like an accelerometer and a temperature sensor that enables data aggregates and other useful parameters for data collection. 

The data are transferred wirelessly to the management platform and analyzed by the municipal collection manager. The knowledge Wellness Smart Cities & Solutions gained while managing the problems posed by this and other projects, has resulted in a versatile measuring device that is compatible with multiple connectivity scenarios and most containers on the market. These devices turn containers into smart containers that generate real-time data about their status. In turn, the collection manager receives useful information about their container system, allowing them to make permanent adjustments to collection routes based on waste volume in containers, alerts generated during vandalism instances, floods or fire alerts, and the seasonality and dynamism of a city like Seville (local festivals, events, etc). 

 Results 

The data collected to evaluate the benefits of implementing Quamtra’s technology over time show that this project now allows LIPASAM to offer Seville an optimized service. It has reduced collection costs by 60% after phasing out fixed collection routes, for 1 dynamic route (The EWAS ROUTE). It has reduced annual collection service rounds from 100 to 34; the  number of hours the trucks are on the street, thereby decongesting  traffic; the miles driven; the fuel used, and the noise created. 

 In 2014, household waste generated in  the 75 municipalities managed by PROMEDIO made up approximately  190,195.2 metric tons of urban-like waste. Of these, 186,638 tons were  organic waste and 1,351.9 tons were light containers and cartons, making  the light packaging contribution ratio 8.33 kg/resident per year. The  remaining 2,175.3 tons were paper and cardboard, making the paper and  cardboard contribution ratio 8.63 kg/resident per year. PROMEDIO manages a total of 11,119 bins  across the province altogether: 6,694 green bins for organic waste,  1,720 yellow bins for light containers and 2,705 blue bins for paper and  cardboard. The capacity and type of bin used for collection varies  according to the needs and characteristics of each municipality. The geographical dispersion of the  province of Badajoz, which is the largest province of Spain and has an  area of 21,766 km², requires a selection of suitable locations for  workshops as well as for organization and work distribution points. Current planning for the collection of  solid urban waste in Badajoz focuses on predefined routes based on  experience, which results in unnecessary costs. Likewise, the equipment  is underused and the quality of service offered to citizens can be  improved. Overflowing bins cannot be identified and empty bins are often  collected, two factors that not only cause additional cleaning costs  but dissatisfaction among citizens. Added to this issue is the challenge of  providing the province of Badajoz with efficient, innovative and  inexpensive management with the help of a tool that not only optimizes  costs but also ensures excellent service that projects a good image to  the public. With the goal of further reducing costs  and advancing toward continuous improvement, PROMEDIO plans to implement  remote monitoring and to follow the level of waste in each bin in order  to determine the efficiency of their current collection policy and  gather data for undertaking optimization measures in their solid urban  waste collection service. 

 In response to the needs presented by PROMEDIO, Wellness Telecom proposes eGarbage, a two-fold solution that provides remote monitoring of bin fill level and urban solid waste collection service tracking. Through the eGarbage system, PROMEDIO will access valuable information for potential service optimization in several areas:  

• Revision of collection routes (including route, number of bins and  collection frequency) with a consequent reduction in fuel and human  resources costs.
• The launch of unplanned collection routes to meet peak waste  disposal needs. Bin overflows can be prevented by tracking the fill  level, thereby improving the quality of service perceived by the user.
• Detection alerts for waste decomposition through temperature sensor installation.
• Fire alarm capacity.
• Improvement of collection service monitoring by recording incidents  during the service as well as observing the level of waste in the bins  before and after service.
• Better public property placement: monitoring allows determination of  typical bin fill rate in an area and to evaluate if a change in the  number of bins that cover that area or a change of bin location is  needed. This is an improvement of the quality of service perceived by  the user in the case of increasing the number of bins and in cost  reduction in the case of public property excess elimination.
• Dynamic management of public property: by continuously monitoring  the level of waste deposited in bins it is possible to establish  seasonal patterns. This optimizes the management of public property, as  it allows for the implementation of a seasonal moving bin policy from  areas of low waste rates to those of higher waste rates.
• Increased visibility of the service provider through publication of  bin fill status and location data in web platforms and multiple channels  (corporate web, cell phone, tablet …).