WasteWise is a Internet-of-Things smart garbage network designed to improve waste collection and maintenance in the City of Toronto.
Every summer in Toronto, I notice a massive increase in the number of overflowing or broken garbage bins in the city. People are out enjoying the weather, having picnics in parks, and are trying to dispose of litter properly, but our infrastructure just can't keep up with the demand! CityNews has a fantastic article discussing the issue here.
Inspired by my experiences, I developed WasteWise -- a data-driven, user-oriented, adaptive, and scalable solution leveraging new advancements in Internet-of-Things, cloud computing, and large-scale sensor networks.
Update: as of April 2024, the City of Toronto is piloting a similar solution with 250 sensor-enhanced receptacles!
Two types of garbage receptacles are designed for deployment around the city:
- Level 1 (or "Basic") receptacles are edge devices (nodes) that measure the fullness level in real-time and transmit the status to the nearest gateway using Long Range (LoRa) communication.
- Level 2 ("Gateway" or "Advanced") receptacles are internet-connected gateways which receive LoRa status messages from all nearby Basic receptacles, as well as measuring its own fill capacity. The status updates are pushed to a Google Firebase Real-Time Database (RTD) every 5 seconds.
Garbage bin fullness is captured in real-time using ultrasonic sensors embedded in the lid of the receptacle. ESP8266 and 32u4 microcontrollers are used for internet and LoRa communications respectively.
Real-time status data pulled from Firebase is used for various end-user applications:
- Web-based Google Maps application showing location, fullness, and other relevant attributes for general public use.
- Email push notifications to relevant maintenance team when a receptacle has reached a threshold fullness.
- Alternative nearby receptacle displays at high-traffic areas to encourage proper waste disposal when a receptacle is full and/or maintenance has not been performed. Can also be used within a maintenance department for a holistic overview.
- Measures fill status using a HC-SR04 sensor.
- Communicates status to the nearest Advanced receptacle (gateway) through a 32u4 microcontroller with 915MHz LoRa. Status transmitted every 5s.
- LEDs convey operational status: green for “not full” and red for “full”.
- Measures fill status using a HC-SR04 sensor.
- Receives status messages from nearby Basic receptacles through a 32u4 microcontroller with 915MHz LoRa.
- 32u4-to-ESP8266 UART bridge allows ESP8266 to update Firebase real-time database with all statuses every 5s.
- Receptacles or hubs equipped with an LCD display fetch real-time statuses from Firebase and display alert messages.
Version 1.0 created in collaboration with J. Singh and H. Naved for ECE1528 (Winter 2024).