Uppsala Municipality bought its first smart garbage cans for the summer of 2013 and today has over 400 units.
Uppsala has chosen to invest in a solar-powered system, so-called Bigbelly . The aim of the initiative is to improve the environment in the municipality through reduced transport and a cleaner local environment around the garbage cans. Since we introduced the system, the visible debris in the City Garden and surrounding larger parks has decreased by 20 percent. A contributing factor may also be the location itself.
The solar-powered bins need daylight to be able to charge, which means that they need to be relatively open. Something that makes them more accessible than the previous bins that were often hidden in a shrubbery or under a large tree
Single and triple units, in 2017 we had a total of 275 units placed in mainly crowded parks and in the city centre. The units are divided into 155 single units and 40 waste sorting units, known as triple units, where the fractions are sorted plastic waste, glass waste and other waste. Some receptacles have also been supplemented with free-standing receptacles for disposable grills as well as "Pawn pipes" for aluminum cans and pet bottles.
The purpose of sorting at source is that we wanted to enable uppsala residents to sort and detoxify the circulation in the public domain as well. The City Planning Administration and the Uppsala Climate Protocol Waste Focus Group, the overall assessment was that these fractions were most suitable to start with when it came to sorting waste in public spaces.
Uppsala conducts annual garbage measurements and also picking studies in order to be able to follow up how the system works and if it ends up the right fraction in the right place.
The first calculations showed that there would in principle be a zero-sum game between cost and potential savings. It has been shown after careful follow-up that this is that we are on the merit side with a few hundred thousand per year, despite the fact that about two thirds of the system expansion in the central city remains, see calculation on page 5.
The big winner is still the environment, which has received less emissions just because about 80% less garbage bags have been needed and that we have been able to save a year of fuel for a pickup that has previously run about 1500 mil in the center environment. In addition, the detoxification of the cycle through the sorting of glass and plastics, see table on page 6 for reduced CO2 emissions.
The working environment is also a winner in that the work can be better planned. Heavy lifting has been reduced thanks to the interior vessels being replaced and run up on a cart with a tingle. Soil litter in, for example, stadsträdgården has decreased by 20% since the system was introduced, this has given staff reduced wear and tear in paper pickers arm muscles and joints.
During the winter of 2015/16, the supplier offers a roller vessel that they plan to produce, this vessel will facilitate the work of vessel handling. They have also developed a foot pedal for the compression vessel, Uppsala municipality has ordered and had 22pcs delivered at the end of January, the foot pedal will make the user not have to use his hands to open the door.
Dialog is now with the manufacturer if it is possible to change existing doors to door with foot pedal, this to make it even easier for the user especially we at source stations.
The bins have a built-in compactor powered by photovoltaic energy. With the help of the compactor, the waste is compacted when the vessel is full. This allows the bin to be filled again without having to be emptied. With the help of the compactor, the dustbin can swallow up to seven times its own volume before it needs to be emptied. This has reduced the download rate by around 80 percent.
In order not to have to go and check how much waste is in the bin, all bins are equipped with a technology that makes it possible to monitor the filling rate in the bins in real time.
– The staff logs on to a web page, via computer, tablet or mobile phone and then sees the status of all Big and Smart Belly vessels, they can then make up the driving route and determine the vehicle type according to the situation. This results in fewer transports and reduced CO2 emissions. The compactor and monitoring system are powered by a battery that is charged using the sun's energy via solar panels. The built-in battery makes everything work on rainy days.
Every month, statistics are taken out of the system to check the efficiency of emptying at the right time, this provides good feedback to the staff.
Residents who have employees in the municipality have welcomed the new garbage system and complaints have been few in number. Someone has written on the municipality's Facebook page that it easily gets messy on the inside of the throw-in door and a property owner has contacted and thought that the garbage cans in the center stand too sparse.
When it comes to the clamping on the inside of the throw-in door, the supplier offers a detachable and washable plastic insert for the inside of the door, which can be easily replaced and cleaned.
The fact that the bins are more sparse than usual is due to the fact that the new ones are much larger than the old ones. Today we have a trash can on a stretch that previously had three. It is important to let changes take their time, residents need to get used to the system. Uppsala, with its 275 units, is the third largest user in Europe of the product and at the time of writing at number 17 in the world.
The garbage can scans make it impossible for pests to access garbage, after collecting garbage, a manual review of the contents is carried out to get the cycle as detoxified as possible.
Good to consider when introducing the system
- It is easier for users if the vessels are marked with fraction types immediately when they are exhibited. The municipality of Malmö took the initiative to get a recommendation, for national standardization of sorting symbols, in terms of color and shape. The recommendation was finalized in February 2016 and Keep Sweden Clean will hold the marketing.
- Be sure to anchor the new technology both internet and externally. If possible, please account for the different types of "profits" you can make together.
- Place the receptacles in an open place so that they get enough light, then the vessels are also much better visible and they will be easier for the user to find them.
- Equip the vessels with foiled plastic based on the color or pattern you want (see picture below of Uppsala's retro foiling for historical environments). The foiling also serves as a graffiti protection.
- Do follow-ups. By using the calculation models the supplier has, you can quickly see the benefits of the product. Also do cross-checks to ensure the vendor's calculations.
| 40 triples Co2 reduction | Per year | Per 5 years | Per 10 years |
| By increasing ÅV - 120 tonnes of CO2/year | 120 | 600 | 1 200 |
| By reducing the combustion of plastics - 45 tonnes of CO2/year | 45 | 225 | 450 |
| 80% fewer transportation for pickup | 3 | 15 | 30 |
| Sum | 168 | 840 | 1 680 |
As the system is expanded, the benefits for the environment increase, knowledge of the system for waste disposal ers, the recognition effect for citizens and the possibilities for some sorting at source in the public sphere – it will be easy to do the right thing!
Of course, the expansion also results in reduced costs.
The report is produced in collaboration with
- Micaela Norberg, editor at Svensk Byggtjänst
- Pär Blom, Head of Unit Technology & Service
- Louise Lindgren, Process Manager Technology & Service
- Data on data also comes from uppsala climate protocol's focus group for waste (2012/13)
