Smart Trash, Smart Campus

What better place to implement smart waste management than a school? Cities and education facilities across the U.S. are enjoying the many benefits of intelligent litter and recycling receptacles.

Individuals charged with waste control are now able to employ a network of connected receptacles and software that enables collection, planning and routing that is substantially more efficient. Smart enough, in fact, to save an estimated 20 to 40 percent on litter and recycling collection expenses. Knowing that a large university can easily generate 9 million pounds of waste in a year, the savings potential is hard to ignore.

Traditional static systems allow for litter receptacles to overfill before they are collected — an aesthetic and olfactory nuisance, for sure — while others that sit empty are collected anyway. Smart litter receptacles provide a new approach, allowing you to allocate resources only where and when they are needed, not only saving time, but also decreasing fuel costs, carbon footprints and unsightly waste overflows.

Using GPS and other sensors, smart receptacles can monitor and transmit fill level, temperature, weight, location and more to cloud-based portals. And they work with any type of waste (general trash, mixed recyclables, paper, glass, metals, etc.) Monitoring containers provides a holistic view of an area’s trash and recycling status while improving landfill diversion rates.

To maintain aesthetics, some sensors can be hidden within a litter receptacle or recycling station, which provides the added benefit of preventing tampering. Along with smart design, factors such as durability are important to consider in choosing a smart waste management system. Sensors should also be built to remain reliable and accurate even in harsh environmental conditions to meet the challenges receptacles face in high-use environments such as a campus.

Learn what smart waste management can do for your bottom line.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Emma Skalka is vice president of Sales and Marketing at Victor Stanley in Dunkirk, MD.

Featured

  • dormitory with green roofs, solar panels, balconies, and labeled architectural annotations

    2025 Residence Hall Design Trends Focus on Sustainability, Flexibility, Community, Technology, and Well-Being

    With the most technically advanced Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) at the helm, residence hall design trends for 2025 look to focus on flexible spaces, health and wellness, sustainability, community, and digital technology.

  • ClassVR Wins Tech & Learning Best of Show at ISTELive 25

    Avantis Education recently announced that its flagship product, ClassVR, won the Tech & Learning Best of Show Award at ISTELive 25 in San Antonio, Texas, according to a news release. The program is designed to celebrate products that are “transforming education in schools around the world and that show the greatest promise for the industry,” and this is the fourth consecutive year that Avantis has claimed the award.

  • Beeville ISD Starts Construction on New Elementary School

    The Beeville Independent School District near Corpus Christi, Texas, recently began a construction project that will consolidate two existing, aging schools into a new elementary school, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Pfluger Architects and Spawglass General Contractors for the design and construction, respectively, of the new facility.

  • ECM Technologies Wins ‘Most Innovative Business of the Year’ Award

    HVAC preventative maintenance and efficiency solutions provider ECM Technologies was recently named the “Most Innovative Business of the Year” at the 2025 Champions of Change Awards, according to a news release. The program recognizes Arizona business leaders and organizations taking steps to make a positive impact on the state through innovative thinking and philanthropy.

Digital Edition