ABSTRACT
A
healthy environment is imperative to a healthy and happy community. Clean and
well monitored environments are a key need in human habitable environments. An
in-house IoT based refuse disposal system is a key aspect in achieving this.
The existing system of placing smart waste bin in a central location is
ineffective and prone to errors because most times, it is difficult to
determine the waste bin wait and fill-up level which results to bins
overflowing. Additionally, due to different frequency of usage of dustbins in
different areas, routine checks which are based on time crevices is inefficient
because a dustbin might get filled early and may need immediate attention or
there might not be any need of a routine check for a long period of time. This
makes present system resource expensive and ineffectual, as overflowing,
stinking dustbins become more of a problem than a solution. This study presents
a framework solution to solve this problem. The framework integrates the idea
of IoT with Wireless Sensor Networks. Arduino Microcontroller is used to interface
the sensor system and the IoT hub. Dustbins in a household are embedded with
low power and low cost smart ultrasonic and sensors that are connected to an
IoT device, which acts as a central hub for all bins. The bins transmit their
content and its fill-level status to the central hub which relays this data to
a cloud platform.
Keywords: IoT,
Sensor, Microcontroller, Base Station, Waste bin
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Waste management is a waste collection system which include the
transportation, disposal or recycling of waste. Waste, which is one of the causes
of environmental pollution, has been defined under Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) as any solid, semi-solid, liquid or gaseous materials
discarded from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural activities (Bashir & Banday, 2013). Most daily human
activities generate waste, which need to be properly disposed and managed to
protect human health and the environment. This is particularly evident in urban
settlements where large volumes of solid waste are produced daily (National Environment Management Authority, 2014).
A researched conducted at the United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs shows that the share of the urban population growth
worldwide is expected to reach 66% by 2050, compared to 52% in 2014, resulting
in increased waste production in cities. In 2012, urban areas worldwide
generated about 1.3 billion tons of solid waste, representing 1.2 kilograms of
waste generated per person–day. With rapid population growth occurring along with
urbanization, urban waste generation is projected to rise to 2.2 billion tons
by 2025, confirming that urban solid waste (USW), the major by-product of an urban
living lifestyle, is growing even faster than the rate of urbanization. This
increase in urban waste generation, together with stricter regulations aimed at
ending illegal waste disposal, stimulate the rise of various applications and
methods for better waste management. Other factors that have sparked the rise
of applications designed for the effective management of waste worldwide are
connected to the constant use of recycling techniques, technological
innovation, advanced techniques for waste collection, and the use of
technologies based on IoT and big data ( Kellow et al, 2019).
Envisioning the rapid rise of generated waste and the negative impacts
that results from poor waste management within the urban settlements,
particularly cities and big municipalities the use of waste bins for collection
were employed (Lazaro, Alexis, & Rubio, 2014). The waste products
are collected through waste bin at a common place at a particular location. A
major difficulty in this method of disposal is the process of checking waste
bins for the collection of waste (Bashir & Banday, 2013). Waste management
personnels have to pass by and collect waste from all the different waste bins.
In this case, two possibilities might occur; there is no waste for collection,
or the bin has overflow. Furthermore, the process of collecting waste using the
traditional method is tedious and time tasking, thus smarter and efficient
techniques becomes paramount.
With the advancement in technology,
Internet of things (IoT) has become a leveraging technology for waste disposal.
IoT is a technique in which surrounding objects are connected using wired or
wireless media, and controlled remotely. Objects communicate and exchange
information to provide advanced intelligent services to users. In this project,
we propose an efficient IOT-based Architecture for waste disposal that will
reduce time for accessing bin status thus, enhancing waste disposal.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
One
of the main concerns with our environment has been poor waste management, which
affects human health and degrades environment. The detection, monitoring and
management of wastes is one of the primary problems of the present era. The
traditional way of monitoring the wastes in waste bins is a cumbersome process that
utilizes human effort, time and cost.
The
emergence of Smart Garbage System (SGS) has helped tremendously in addressing
the various issues associated with traditional method of waste disposal. Though
the current SGS have proffered solutions to poor waste management methods,
considerable challenges such as difficulty in identifying the filling level of
the dumps because of the differences in the waste packaging process, variety
and the irregularity of the discarded materials, and easy monetization of the
waste management system still persist.
This
research proposes a framework that converts the process to an in house waste disposal
system that enables waste monitoring personnel to collect the waste on time by
notifying when the bins have reached maximum capacity. The proposed solution is
able to help in increasing overall productivity by ensuring collections occur
only when needed, over‐filling
is eliminated, collection costs are reduced, and residents enjoy an eco‐friendly waste
monitoring solution.
1.3
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The
aim of this study is to develop a framework for an IoT based smart refuse
disposal system.
The
objectives of the study are listed below:
1.
To
Identify Elements relating to
bin status monitoring.
2.
To Review the approaches used in in-house
waste monitoring systems.
3.
To develop a framework to detect when
waste bin fill up and notify the relevant waste monitoring personnel for
collection.
1.4 Significance of the
Study
1. This
study will offer invaluable benefits to the existing system (Smart Garbage
System) in the process of effective and hitch free waste disposal.
2. This
study will be important to scholars, as an addition to the existing body of
knowledge.
3. Enable residents generate income from the
waste they generate
4. Provide
easy business chain process for companies and individuals involved in the waste
management business.
1.5
Scope of the Study
In this project
work, there are limitations which limits the scope of our work. The scope of
this project is to put forward a generic framework for solid waste management.
However, we do not intend to provide or implement a full generic framework. Furthermore, we will not be working with real
sensors or actuators, thus we will assume the sensory aspect of our framework
by modeling the assumed sensor components. Subsequently we do not plan to
compact data mining functions on sensors.
1.6 Definition of Terms
Waste: anything
that is eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required.
Disposal:
the action or act of disposing
Internet:
a global communication network providing a variety of information and
communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using
standardized communication protocols.
Technology:
the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.
Information:
facts or knowledge provided or learned.
Garbage:
rubbish or waste, especially domestic refuse.
Bin:
receptacles in which to deposit refuse or rubbish
Vandalism:
the act of deliberately destroying or damaging a property
Framework:
an essential supporting or underlying structure.
Sensor:
a device which dictates or measure physical property.
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PROJECT CODE: 00001
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