Smart waste management with IoT: a pilot project for cost-efficient solutions in the city centre of Bratislava

The internet of things and its applications have been exponentially coming to the forefront over the past years. Waste management is one of the areas where IoT has a potential of making a significant difference to our everyday lives. While a variety of smart waste management solutions has already been studied and applied, majority of them are focuses on larger-capacity bins with lower frequency of collection. Contrariwise, this work concentrates on a lower-volume bins with daily frequency of collection - bins administered by Municipality of Bratislava, mainly located in the city centre. We study the current waste management situation, as well as potential costs and benefits of a particular smart waste management solution. A solution provided by a Bratislava-based provider of smart waste management solutions, is used as an example of possible IoT applications to the discussed bins. We conclude that given our assumptions, implementation of such a solution would be beneficial. Based on the results of our analysis, we also define limitations of the solution that may be overcome through adoption of recommended measures.