Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Connected Waste Receptacles Enhance Efficiency

  • 09/01/18
Victor Stanley

Victor Stanley’s connected waste receptacles made pickup and monitoring easier for campus staff, cutting down on unnecessary waste collection in the process.

Smart, connected phones, watches, thermostats, and even refrigerators (to name just a few examples) no longer occupy the fringe of technology. In fact, our culture’s epic shift toward “The Internet of Things,” as it’s known, is in full swing. Victor Stanley, a leading designer and manufacturer of premium site furnishings, has introduced a new generation of connected, intelligent waste receptacles. They’re smart enough, in fact, to save an estimated 40 percent on litter and recycling collection expenses each year.

Mr. Patrick Harrity, Rutgers University’s director of Grounds & Fleet Operations, adopted the new waste management system in an effort to initiate “less time spent on trash bin dumping labor and less trash bag usage.”

Traditional waste management allows for receptacles to overfill before they are collected—an aesthetic and olfactory nuisance, for sure—while others sit empty, yet are collected anyway. Victor Stanley’s innovative approach allocates collection resources where and when they are needed. It turns out these smart receptacles save not only time, but also decrease fuel costs and carbon footprints.

Using GPS in conjunction with other sensors, the receptacles continuously monitor and transmit fill levels, while also conveying temperatures, weights, and other environmental data to a custom online platform. Monitoring of containers provides a holistic view of an area’s trash and recycling status, and improves landfill diversion.

Campuses can employ networks of connected receptacles that enable collection planning and routing that is substantially more efficient. To maintain aesthetics and prevent vandalism, Victor Stanley’s sensors are hidden within their litter receptacles or recycling stations. Mr. Harrity is pleased with the seamless integration, noting that Relay “matches all our other receptacles.” Victor Stanley Relay is available for new receptacles and as a retrofit for their side-door receptacles.

victorstanley.com/product/relay

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management September 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Texas A&M Opens First Building at Fort Worth Campus, Breaks Ground on Research Facility

    The Texas A&M University System marked a major milestone in the development of its Fort Worth campus by opening its first completed academic building and breaking ground on a second facility designed to expand research and industry collaboration.

  • Minnesota District Opens New PreK–12 School

    Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Schools in Gibbon, Minn., recently announced that construction is complete on a new, $68.9-million school for students in grades PreK–12, according to a news release.

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.

  • Fellowes Expands Finish and Wall-Covering Options for Architectural Wall Systems

    Fellowes Architectural Solutions has expanded the materials library for its architectural wall systems with a series of new finishes and wall-covering options intended to provide architects and designers with additional choices for commercial interiors, according to a company news release.