Sunderland City Council is planning to upgrade the capabilities of its smart bins with a trial of ‘fill level’ sensors.
This follows the collection of evidence that many of public bins have been emptied before they have neared their capacity.
The new sensors will be retrofitted in approximately 40 bins across the city, with the aim of reducing the number of journeys made by waste collection teams to empty them. This is expected to deliver benefits in terms of time efficiencies and reducing fuel consumption.
The sensors will provide data on the levels to which every bin has been filled.
Andy Wilson, Sunderland’s environmental services manager, said: “This technology highlights which bins are used the most and at what times, allowing us to create more efficient waste collection routes across our communities. This not only supports our mission for cleaner neighbourhoods, it enables us to actively protect the environment by optimising resources and reducing carbon emissions.”
Data analysis
Environmental services manager Martin Briscoe added: “The data collected from the bin sensors via our smart digital infrastructure will be analysed with advanced software, which can evaluate each bin’s usage and predict future behaviours. This will allow us to optimise our schedules and resources and can even enable us to create customised calendars for collection based around usage in certain areas.”
The initiative is part of Sunderland’s smart city programme, in partnership with BAI Communications, which has also involved trials of solar powered compactor bins.
