In Norway, the country’s waste management setup is challenged by its mountainous landscape, small roads, and sparse population. A data-based approach is the only way forward for efficient and sustainable waste services.

Three Norwegian municipalities decided to embark on a smart sensor journey to address these challenges. In rural areas with seasonal usage, they wanted to tackle the issue of empty bins and unnecessary collection routes. In the city, the municipality looked to a data solution to help increase recycling rates.

Smart sensors were installed in glass containers in a large Norwegian city to monitor and understand citizens’ recycling behavior. The solution was also used in centralized collection points in rural areas. These containers are subject to seasonal and weather-dependent usage, making it extremely difficult for the municipality to know when the containers need servicing.

Based on IoT technology, smart sensors provide real-time data on the fill levels, movements, and temperatures of containers. The municipalities can access the data via the Nordsense Platform and service bins at the most optimal time.

The data is providing a clear overview of bin usage in rural and seasonal areas and empowering the municipalities to reduce collection services and cut down on operational costs:

• 27% of services to centralized collection points could be skipped
• 38% of services to centralized collection points in cabin areas were collecting air
• During the summer, only 66% of bins were full and the majority of services were happening too early.

In the city, the data is helping the municipality to measure and increase recycling participation while improving the cost- and carbon efficiency of collections:

• 75% of glass recycling bins were serviced too early
• 41% of recycling collections could be skipped

Read the full case here.