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. In-House management and monitoring of
waste is a key aspect in achieving this. The existing system of using waste
monitoring personnel to regularly check and empty filled dustbins, the process
has been prone to delays or neglect. 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 solution about the Smart-Bin Prototype for
In-House Waste Management which integrates the idea of IoT with Wireless Sensor
Networks. Arduino ATmega328P Microcontroller is used to interface the sensor
system and the IoT hub. Dustbins in an area are embedded with low power and low
cost smart ultrasonic and gas sensors that are connected to an IoT device,
which acts as a central hub for all bins. The bins transmit their gas content
and its fill-level status to the central hub which relays this data to a cloud
platform. The cloud platform further pushes the data to the client app a GUI
(Web or mobile) in which the current gas content and their state (filled or
not) is displayed. The client app GUI can be used by the waste management
personnel and data can be used to plan their routine check. This timely garbage
monitoring would optimize resources, reduce cases of neglect and is easy to
adopt.
CHAPTER
ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
Solid waste which is one of the sources
and causes of environmental pollution has been defined under Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act as any solid, semi-solid liquid or contained
gaseous materials discarded from industrial, commercial, mining or agricultural
operations and from community activities (Bashir & Banday, 2013). Most
daily human activities generate waste which requires to be properly managed to
protect human health and environment while enhancing aesthetics. This scenario
is particularly evident in urban settlements which generate large quantities of
solid waste due to high human population (National Environment Management
Authority, 2014).
Waste management is a task which occurs in
a great variety of domains and contexts. Moderate amounts of waste can be found
in any environment inhabited by human beings (Prassler, Stroulia, & Strobe,
1997). Waste management is an important requirement for ecologically
sustainable development in many countries. Efficient management/ clearing of
waste is a major issue in today’s society (Glouche & Couderc, 2013). The
impacts of poor solid waste management within the urban settlements,
particularly cities and big municipalities can be disastrous (National
Environment Management Authority, 2014).
Common methods of solid waste disposal is
the use of waste bins for collection (Lazaro, Alexis, & Rubio, 2014). The
office and domestic waste products are collected through waste bin at a common
place at a particular spot. A major difficult task is the process of checking
waste bins for the collection of waste (Bashir & Banday, 2013). The common
waste collection process demands that waste management personnel has to pass by
and collect waste from all the different waste bins. The waste management
personnel has to present himself in person at all the waste collection points
without the knowledge of the bin status. In this case, two possibilities
present; either there is no waste for collection, or the bin has overflown. 2
This is a complex and time
consuming process. Rising waste disposal costs and high visibility of waste
collection operations are forcing residents to demand efficient collection and
disposal of solid waste (Dugdhe, Shelar, Jire, & Apte, 2016). As such there
is need for proper and efficient waste management (Bashir & Banday, 2013).
Cleaning of garbage bin in time will ensure proper cleanliness of the
surrounding (Thakker, 2015)
Solid waste collection is one of the most expensive
services provided by a city to its residents. Between 75-80% of the solid waste
management budget is spent on collection and transfer costs. Therefore,
productivity of collection and transfer operations is of significant concern
(Dugdhe et al., 2016).
Urban/suburban
waste management involves numerous waste bins that exhibit significant filling
variations (over days and seasons or location) and diverse requirements for
emptying, from sporadic (a few times within a week) to very frequent (several
times a day). On the other hand other waste forms (i.e. agricultural,
biomedical, chemical, electronic, mineral, organic/inorganic, and radioactive,
etc.) are characterized by varying levels of gas emissions which are crucial
for monitoring (Karadimas, Papalambrou, Gialelis, & Koubias, 2016).
The problem of efficient waste management
is one of the major problems of the modern times, thus there is an utmost need
to address this problem(Bashir & Banday, 2013) (Dugdhe et al., 2016). The
proper waste management system is a must for the hygienic society in general and
for a better world as a whole.
In order to protect human health and the
environment from the potential hazards of delayed waste disposal and
environmental pollution a systematically supervised and controlled handling of
these wastes is of essence (Bashir & Banday, 2013).
The work proposed in this study
illustrates how the Litter-Bin solution empowers cleaning operators to monitor
in-house waste bins in real time. Thus, the system is able to help in
increasing overall productivity and cleanliness.
1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Litter bins are emptied at
certain intervals by cleaners. This method has several drawbacks such as: Some
litter bins fill up much faster than the rate of emptying and they are full
before the next scheduled time for collection. This leads to overflowing of
rubbish bin and poses hygiene risks. Also there are special periods (e.g.
festivals, during office activities, and active company/office periods) when
certain litter bins fill up very quickly and there is a need for increased
collection intervals (Folianto, Low, & Yeow, 2015). Additionally, some
waste bins produce uncomfortable smell composed of toxic gases which poses a
health hazard to human habitation. A lot of research has been done on different
aspect of solid waste management, but a few works have been done on in-house
bin monitoring (Dugdhe et al., 2016). This research proposes a prototype
solution that empowers waste monitoring personnel to timely collection of waste
by notifying when the fill-level or safe gas emission levels are surpassed. 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. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the study is to
develop a smart-bin management and monitoring prototype to proactively detect
fill-level or gas emission levels and notify the relevant waste monitoring
personnel. The following specific objectives have been formulated:
i. To Identify Elements relating to
bin status monitoring.
ii. To Review the approaches used
in in-house waste monitoring systems.
iii. To Develop a robust prototype to detect when litter bins
fill up or generate toxic gases and notify the relevant waste monitoring
personnel for collection.
iv. To Test the
prototype.
1.4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i. What are the elements used for waste
bin status monitoring?
ii. What are the approaches used in
in-house waste bin monitoring systems?
iii.
How can a prototype for detecting litter-bins filling up or generating foul
smell and notifying relevant parties be developed?
iv. How reliable
is the prototype developed?
1.7. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study helps to identify the gaps in
monitoring of in house waste bins. The study aims at developing a prototype to
benefit the domestic household and corporate user to be able to monitor the gas
emission levels, and the fill levels from the waste bins.
The results of the study might propel the
usage of the proposed prototype for detecting fill-level and gas emission level
from waste bins and informing the waste monitoring personnel hence ensuring a
safer, cleaner environment for all.
The research would also be important to
scholars, as an addition to the existing body of knowledge also complementing
the previous research carried out on the same. It will provide a fair platform
for further research to be carried out on the adoption of waste bin monitoring
systems.
1.8. SCOPE
The study is aimed at formulating a
prototype for the adoption of waste bin monitoring systems. This is because
such a solution may go a long way in enhancing accountability, proactive
responsiveness and better management of waste, thus ensuring a safer, cleaner
environment for everyone. This study was carried out in 2017.
The target of this study is the domestic
household and corporate user. The prototype developed from this study will
empower the domestic and corporate user to
be able to monitor the household bin status (gas emission levels, and the fill
levels) over a period of time, being able to send notifications when bins
require to be attended and reports on average household waste reporting.
PROJECT CODE: 00013
PRICE: 2,300