The world generates 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with at least 33 percent of the whole not managed in an environmentally safe manner. Looking forward, annual global waste production is believed to reach 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050.^[1]

The increasing quantity and complexity of waste requires digital innovations that improve our ability to manage solid waste. Introducing digital components in the Solid Waste Management Process (SWMP) results particularly beneficial for the improved assessment and planning of collection and transportation phases.

A first step towards digitalisation consists of a manual data collection and planning process aimed at optimising collection routes and schedules. This can be organised on a static spreadsheet style for assessment and planning of the garbage truck collection routes. Manual data work here refers to the collection and recording of vehicle routes and vehicle ‘filling rates’ combined with fuel and labour efficiency assessments and planning.

Beyond the process of optimising the planned and scheduled collection routes in a static way, a more dynamic approach can be introduced through the use of sensors in containers, bins or other collection points in combination with an adaptive route planning or scheduling approach.

Policy makers must ensure that this advanced and digitalised approach is linked to GPS based vehicle observations as well as digital analysis and planning processes for optimal service efficiency.

By gathering real-time data on the fill levels of bins, smart waste sensors enable waste management professionals to remotely monitor how full or empty bins are. This means that garbage collectors no longer have to check and service all bins on their collection routes. Instead, they can skip half-empty bins and focus their efforts solely on the containers in need of service.^[2] The introduction of this digital innovation empowers a transition from static to dynamic waste collection routes, as routes change depending on how frequently bins are used. Such sensors are easy to place in your waste containers and to set up via a simple installation app on your smartphone as illustrated in the picture to the left.^[3]

Digital solutions can also play an important role in the pre-collection phase of the waste management hierarchy by encouraging buy-in and participation from citizens to self-manage waste more effectively. This includes waste sorting at source, to facilitate more recycling and value-extraction from waste, efforts to reduce waste generation and efforts to increase the reuse of products and materials.

Ensuring sufficient or optimal buy-in among citizens is key to the effectiveness of solid waste management services and can be greatly improved with the introduction of digital tools. Communication and information campaigns, attitude campaigns or stakeholder consultations can be supported by (i) Digital/smart data collection (e.g. By cameras), (ii) Digital/automated communication and messaging between the city and operators as well as (iii) Digital/automated communication and messaging between the city, operators and end-users.

Additionally, cities can go beyond these low-cost solutions and implement high-cost digital innovations that also result in an improved waste management. Policy makers should promote a wider adoption of these technologies across municipalities when the necessary foundational structure, data collection points and operating systems are in place.

As an example, before deploying sensor-based technology across a whole fleet of garbage trucks, the municipality in charge should ensure that the correct GPS Software or OS system necessary for the efficient functioning of the new technology is in place.

Among these more expensive solutions, Industrial Internet of things (IioT) can help introduce sensor-supported containers that collect data on the waste. These containers then transfer the data to central units and provide insight on identification, weight, temperature and software to optimize logistics particularly for route optimisation and fleet management.

Cloud computing can store and process sensor data received from the containers and provide cloud based software solutions to optimize workflows. Data Analytics identifies patterns, extracts information and helps discover trends or calibrate models. Using these software technologies, workflows are optimised particularly in the collection and transport phase.

Using these innovative software and the associated hardware sensors needed, one can document failure to collect, failure in sorting waste or apply it to detect waste bins. This will in turn help in the connection, standardizing and optimizing of general procedures as well as provide real-time order management and route planning and optimization using GPS data.

Additionally, Robotics is a form of hardware that plays and important role in the sorting phase. At the same time, Artificial intelligence is a software technology that has a key role in the sorting and collection phases. This can take shape in the form of autonomous, self-driving street sweepers or automatic sorting/recycling plants.

In recent years, new technologies such as Industrial internet of things (IioT), Supply chain management and intelligent automation have helped reduce the use of materials in the manufacturing process, while others have contributed to giving products longer lifespans – hence, alleviating overall waste production.[4] On the other hand, news ways of doing business such as E-Commerce have had profound impacts on waste streams generated in the distribution process. According to research by the University of Bamberg, Germany destroys 20M items annually (4% of returned goods) as a high number of returned deliveries are eliminated instead of resold.^[5]

Policymakers seeking to introduce digital components in the SWMP should therefore consider how digital technologies can change the ways goods are produced and consumed, and in turn, how waste is generated.

With digitalisation and new technologies, the complexity of the waste management sector has greatly evolved in the last decades. In turn, the interest from the private sector to participate has been rapidly growing. Small contractors are increasingly becoming large integrated companies acting together with municipalities in a Public Private Partnership (PPP).^[6]

It is important to assess how private sector involvement may affect digitalisation, but at the same time, it is important to consider how we can use digitalisation to further involve the private sector in some of the different phases of the SWMP.

The disposal of household and commercial waste tends to fall under the public sector’s responsibility. However, private companies are involved in the performance of functions in one form or another through the entire value chain.^[7]

Various models have been established with the aim of transferring functions in the waste disposal sector. Such models include contracting, concession, franchise and open competition.

In contracting, one or more functions may be tendered to private sector providers in a competitive process. In this contracting model, the public sector pays the private companies for the service performed, in a form of functional privatisation that gives rise to a service agreement across all parties. Typically, the private sector assumes the entire financial risk and in turn, this model results in the lowest waste collection cost.^[8]

Another form of private sector participation can take the form of a franchise. Under a franchise model, the transfer of functions may vary from case to case. Typically, a disposal company is granted a local monopoly. The company then charges consumers for its services in its own right in order to cover its current expenses. In this case the private company may want the government to bear some of the financial risks and in practice it does not result in the lowest collection costs but may result in lower costs for residents in the municipality.^[9] Some examples include waste collection or transportation to a landfill site.

The waste sector also operates under a concession model, usually involving large-scale investments. Under this model, the private company is authorised to charge fees to the producers of waste in order to finance its investments and current costs. Depending on whether prices that cover the company’s costs can be realistically imposed on the market, the public sector may contribute to the company’s funding in the form of subsidies. Some examples of concessional models in the waste sector include the construction of incinerators, waste treatment plants or composting plants. Under a concession model, the financial risk is assumed by the private owner, offering more flexibility in the establishment of a management structure and being less susceptible to political interference.^[10]

The last model under which private firms can operate in the private sector is open competition. This can include free competition between several disposal companies. These companies are granted licenses by public authorities and offer their services in a competitive market environment. This form of PSP usually brings higher benefits to investors as highly competitive companies tend to develop faster technologies and do not depend on bureaucratic debates that can slow down innovation processes. They tend to have lower prices and benefit from an increased flexibility in terms of personnel acquisition.

Private sector involvement in the form of a PPP often results in a greater performance. Such is the case of Beirut where the entry of public-private partnerships for municipal solid waste management services lead to increased performance efficiency and environmental protection enhancement.^[11] The study found that having private firms provide collection services under a contract with the local government resulted in the lowest collection cost.^[12] It is the job of policy makers to establish performance monitoring and conduct cost-benefit analysis to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the various forms of PPP and ultimately find the least expensive and most effective solid waste management solution.

It is very important to point out that the digitalisation of the solid waste management creates new streams of data as new sensors and inputs across the different stages of the SWMP are put into place. This raises some privacy concerns when it comes to disseminating public data, a potential sensitive topic between public and private entities.

Having public data in private hands can pose a threat and public players must be cautious when deciding to tender out different stages of the solid waste management to private companies.

Besides the factors above mentioned, there are many other important ones to take into account in order to perform and in-depth analysis on how digitalisation affects private sector involvement. Such factors should include cost recovery, efficiency, public accountability, management, finance, economies of scale, legislation, institutions, and cost. Cost factors in particular should be assessed separately for each of the different stages of solid waste service – collection/transport, sorting/cleansing/recycling and disposal/transfer.