Filling Level Measurements of Mixed Waste Bins Using Low Power Iot Sensors and Lora Wan Technology

Abstract

The article deals with sensor-related solutions to improve waste collection and monitoring in public waste bins. Availability of use of an inexpensive monitoring system for measurement process was tested. The system consists of wireless nodes that use ultrasonic sensors to measure the empty space in the waste bins. A sensor gateway based on Long Rage Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) protocol was used. Purpose of this work was to describe the new sensor node typology based on low-power and low-cost components. The article analyses the architecture of nodes in detail, focusing on energyefficient technologies and policies to extend battery life by reducing energy consumption through hardware and software optimization. Measurements were performed at five points in two size of containers with different two levels of filling and mixed type of waste. The results show that existing technologies are mature enough to create and deploy inexpensive additional sensors for outbound bins and that such a system can provide the necessary insights on how to optimize waste collection processes and avoid overflowing containers.