IoT based smart waste management system
The current situation regarding waste in Pakistan is poor and the main reason for such bad management of waste is because waste management companies in Pakistan are using old methods for waste collection which result in wastage of many resources and is inefficient. Figure 1 shows that in Pakistan on
2025-06-28 16:28:20 - Adil Khan
IoT based smart waste management system
Project Area of Specialization Internet of ThingsProject SummaryThe current situation regarding waste in Pakistan is poor and the main reason for such bad management of waste is because waste management companies in Pakistan are using old methods for waste collection which result in wastage of many resources and is inefficient. Figure 1 shows that in Pakistan only 50% of waste gets collected and other 50% gets neglected due to improper monitoring of garbage bins.
Figure 1: Graph shows that around 50% of waste gets collected in major cities of Pakistan.
Waste collection trucks have to drive to the location and then stand idle to load the dumpsters garbage into the truck. Figure 2 shows fuel consumption for waste collection truck working 52 weeks/yr, 5 days/week, and 7 hr/day. Thus, poor management contribute to environmental pollution by emitting CO and NOx.
Figure 2: Annual emissions estimated for the waste collection vehicle operating 52 weeks/yr, 5 days/week, and 7 hr/day.
Healthcare waste too is disposed in waste bins near hospital areas in Pakistan. Local bodies handle and manage disposal of healthcare waste, but if for some reason such waste gets piled up near any residential area, chances of diseases which spread though respiratory or throat secretions, including candida, meningitis, hepatitis B and C would increase significantly.
The System will monitor real time level of bin and if the level is around the threshold value, then the system will recognize that bin as filled and will mark it as filled on the maps. The driver will get the location through SMS service. Then the collector trucks on their specified time will only visit those routes or areas which will be marked by the system. As trucks work on daily basis, if for some reason the bin gets filled after collection then the system will mark that bin as filled and will get emptied on second round of waste collection by the trucks. This will help managing the waste efficiently and also it will significantly reduce environmental pollution and risk of different diseases.
Figure 3: Generic architecture of IoT based smart waste management system.
Project ObjectivesThere are two main objectives for this system:
- Timely waste management
- Clean environment
- Better health
The main concern of this system is solid waste management, it helps in timely pickup of the waste and prevent the overspilling of the waste bin. This leads to the clean environment and prevents spread of diseases like Hepatitis B and C, Candida and Meningitis.
Project Implementation MethodThe proposed system has certain components which will help to reach the desired outcome. The components are as follows:
- Node MCU
- Ultrasonnic sensor
- RFID reader
- GPS module
- GSM module
Architecture of the proposed solution is as below:
The system will work in following steps:
- Ultrasonic sensor measures the level of garbage in bin.
- When the distance becomes equal or greater than the threshold value it sends signal to MCU.
- MCU sends data to ThingSpeak cloud.
- The data of ThingSpeak include distance and location of bin.
- GSM module sends location to truck driver via SMS.
- When driver collects the bin, driver taps their card with RFID reader to confirm the garbage collection.
- RFID data will also be recorded.
The benefits of this system are listed below
- Improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- Less Environmental pollution
- Health protection
- Reduces the overspilling of the bins.
We are using Node MCU, Ultra-sonic Sensor, GPS Module, RF ID Module and a buzzer. First we connect the ultra-sonic sensor and the RFID with the MCU. For the programming purpose of these components, we are using Arduino IDE. Certain libraries and preferences are added into the IDE.
The MCU, Sensor and RFID is programmed using Arduino IDE software. After collection of data like distance measurement and RFID access and denial is found in the serial monitor after uploading. For sending this data to the cloud, we are using the cloud server “ThingSpeak”. After creating the account which is free in thing-speak, we created a channel and a field with some widgets for data. ThingSpeak is connected to the Arduino ide and to our components. After every 15 seconds the channel is updated through the Wi-Fi and new distance is updated. After this the GPS module is also connected to the MCU and programmed through Arduino IDE. Along with latitude, longitude, date and time, we also get a link which when opened shows the location on the google maps. Bins are defined in areas so that if a bin gets filled the system will notify the truck driver for that area with location of bin.
Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry OthersOther IndustriesCore Technology Internet of Things (IoT)Other TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Climate ActionRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 55597 | |||
| Ultrasonic sensor | Equipment | 8 | 150 | 1200 |
| RFID module | Equipment | 4 | 180 | 720 |
| Node MCU | Equipment | 4 | 800 | 3200 |
| GPS module | Equipment | 4 | 1150 | 4600 |
| GSM module | Equipment | 4 | 1200 | 4800 |
| OLED display | Equipment | 3 | 450 | 1350 |
| Vero board | Equipment | 2 | 150 | 300 |
| Dustbin | Equipment | 2 | 500 | 1000 |
| Toy model | Miscellaneous | 1 | 6960 | 6960 |
| PCB | Equipment | 1 | 19727 | 19727 |
| 3d printing | Equipment | 1 | 11740 | 11740 |