Good practice:

Electronic Closure on waste containers and Use of Information: the case of Gijón

The municipality of Gijon in Spain is implementing two projects to equip waste containers with electronics locks, aiming to improve its performances and services . Two fractions are targeted.
1. Biowaste.
In this case the purity of the waste is crucial for the subsequent treatment process. The container is permanently closed. Users need a citizen card to open the container and deposit de biowaste bag (the same than the one used in public transport, public libraries, public sport facilities, etc.)
The lock stores the location, the day, time and the user-code who has used the container.
1.400 containers equipped with electronic locks has been already installed throughout the urban area sin 2.015
This implementation has been done in 6 phases:
2015: 10.000 inh
2017: 35.000 inh
2018: 70.000 inh
2019: 140.000 inh (1st semester)
2019: 172.000 inh (2nd semester)
2020: 245.000 inh
2. Residual Waste
In 2019 a new project began in a small neighborhood of 700 inhabitants, to extend the use of electronic locks in the residual waste containers.
Just 7 street containers Areas were equipped with this technology, the same lock than in the biowaste container.

aprox. 1.400 containers with electronic locks for biowaste and 10 for residual waste.
aprox. 1.100 €/container.
RFID Antenna and tablet truck on board is needed to send the data stored in locks to the server.

Biowaste:
High purity and low vandalism
Pattern in the waste deposit (frequencies, hours, etc.)

Residual waste:
Increase in waste separation from 10% to 50% (in combination with other measures)

Reduce maintenance costs of locks (batteries)
Reduce vandalism and sabotage of locks on residual waste containers.
Extend the implantation of locks in residual waste containers to other neighborhoods.
Use of information to improve service and to get more control to avoid bad use.

Waste is a comun problem for all the regions in Europe and all over the world. Municipal waste management is a complex task with many variables, which directly affects the daily life of citizens and in which a solution must be sought that combines quality of the service provided and citizen satisfaction with improvement of the environment, reduction of waste generation and optimization of natural resources.
The use of new technologies in the field of waste collection is a fact that is increasingly implemented in the most avant-garde municipalities in Europe and that can facilitate the improvement in the provision of the service and in the minimization of problems derived from the generation debris closely linked to the progress of civilizations.