DIGITALIZATION OF THE THREE STAGES IN WASTE MANAGEMENT

DIGITALIZATION OF THE THREE STAGES IN WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste management and treatment is currently immersed in a complex process of innovation and transformation to make the collection, classification and recycling of waste more efficient, profitable and respectful of the environment. This more efficient management is a real necessity for Europe, since, according to Eurostat, in 2020 each European produced 505 kilos of waste, 38 more than in 1995. For this reason, European countries have been working for some time to increase waste recycling and improve the sustainability of the sector. A transformation of waste management that involves a greater use of digital technologies.

Although this digitalization of waste management is not something new, the advances being made offer European countries opportunities to reduce costs and create new jobs. The widespread use of digital technologies will enable ‘smarter’ waste management in Europe. Artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) or blockchain ensure the recyclability and traceability of waste, from collection to treatment, allowing waste management to be 100% digitized and integrated with industry 4.0 to have solutions that increase control, efficiency and profits, optimizing all stages of the process.

This is how digitalization is currently leading towards a new management model, more aimed at the circular economy, which makes all stages of the process more efficient: collection, classification and treatment of waste. But what technology is responsible for enhancing each of these three stages?

IOT FOR WASTE COLLECTION

The first of these phases, the collection, has a great technological ally: the Internet of Things (IoT). The combination of sensors, software and other technologies allows monitoring, collecting and analyzing data in real time and help, in this way, to optimize waste collection, significantly reducing its inefficiencies, is what is known as Green IoT. Among the solutions enabled by the IoT are, for example, the autonomous collection of waste or the existence of intelligent containers, while the latest innovations can be found within the technological field of drones or robots for underwater cleaning.

There are many examples. As for autonomous waste collection, the Swedish Volvo has been working for a few years with an autonomous truck that will facilitate waste collection in a more efficient and sustainable way; and, in the same line, Amsterdam, one of the cities at the global forefront in sustainability issues, presents the Waste Streams project, which proposes the installation of floating containers in the channels, which will be managed autonomously. In the line of smart containers, there are a large number of initiatives and pilot projects throughout Europe, as is the case of the project started this year in Barcelona.

Finally, two examples of the most innovative projects that add Deep Tech or drone technology to a first layer of IoT to enhance the sustainable solution would be: SeaClear, a European project that aims to automate the process of searching, identifying and collecting marine litter through autonomous robots that work collaboratively; or the Spanish project with drones Oriented to the control of illegal dumping and garbage deposits outside the indicated places.

ARTIFICIAL VISION, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS FOR WASTE SORTING

Artificial vision and artificial intelligence, often supported by robotic classifiers, are capable of generating information about the selected materials. These technologies are rapidly spreading across Europe with the aim of speeding up waste sorting and dramatically improving the accuracy with which waste is selected for further treatment and recovery. These technologies aim to make the second phase of the waste management process, sorting, automatable easier, faster and safer, for example by reducing human exposure to potentially hazardous waste streams and working with waste from all sectors, from food to pharmaceuticals.

Responding to the needs of multiple sectors, PICVISA develops technological solutions based on artificial intelligence, artificial vision and machine learning, such as optical separators ECOSORT (textile), ECOPACK (polymers, paper, cardboard and textiles) and ECOGLASS (glass). These optical separators make it possible to classify and recover different from waste. The combination of these optical separators with robotic solutions such as ECOPICK, which incorporates artificial intelligence, increases sorting speed, minimizes errors and improves process efficiency.

A good example of the latter is the project that we have presented last October and that connects PICVISA with the Generalitat Valenciana and the multinational Nestlé to recover and recycle plastic containers, mainly coffee capsules.

The collaboration agreement includes the installation of an ECOPICK artificial intelligence robot from PICVISA in the Picassent light packaging selection plant, located south of the metropolitan area of the city of Valencia. The objective of this initiative is to separate and classify small plastic waste that can be recycled. In this case, plastic coffee capsules, plastic caps and yogurt containers, which will be diverted to treatment and recycling plants to turn them into a new resource and favor a sustainable system that contributes to a more circular economy.

BIG DATA AND BLOCKCHAIN FOR WASTE TREATMENT

The last stage of this long-distance race that is waste management is its treatment. Efficient management is key to reducing the number of landfills, minimizing CO2 emissions, saving water and energy, reducing the extraction of raw materials, and creating sustainable employment, among other benefits.

At this point the data is key. The digitalization of the sector will also allow waste management to be 100% monitored and integrated with industry 4.0 and use Big Data to have solutions that increase control, efficiency and profits, optimizing all stages of the process. If we add to this the incorporation of cutting-edge technologies such as Blockchain, the result is an almost total monitoring of the waste treatment process along with the traceability of the waste itself.

This is where PICVISA adds its ECOFLOW and DATA+ technologies, a flow analyzer that allows image collection, data processing and visualization to analyze the flow of the recycling plant (ECOFLOW) while providing the platform that shows the information of the plant activity. In this way, all the information can be displayed remotely accurately and in real time.

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NEXT STEPS IN WASTE MANAGEMENT

In conclusion, innovation within the three stages of waste management discussed in this post, at the same time as the establishment and adoption of the technologies described, are the short and medium term future of the sector.

However, it is true that it is already possible to speak of a fourth stage. A longer-term future where waste management involves the creation of secondary raw materials or energy production, the use of emerging technologies, such as so-called advanced recycling, or the eco-design of plastics to facilitate their recycling and the manufacture of bioplastics, all areas where we are already seeing the first pilot projects.

So, if you want to be aware of what this fourth stage in waste management will bring, and more news in the sector, do not forget to follow us on our social networks. More coming soon!