When Smart Bins Meet a Smart City

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Keywords

Smart Bins, Smart City, Waste, Waste Management, Sensors, Internet of Things, Telecoms, Dublin, Dublin City Council, Local Authority, Ireland

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.28945/4858

Abstract

The sky was overcast, with bouts of light showers expected throughout the day. In other words, nothing unusual for a cool January’s day in Dublin, Ireland. Simon Brock, Administrative Officer of Dublin City Council’s Waste Management Services was about to look over details of the day’s waste collection in Dublin’s Smart Docklands district (See Exhibit 1). Simon had worked his way through the waste management section over the years, and with it, learned the ins and outs of navigating its processes. Of particular interest in recent times, was the advent of the ‘smart bin’, and how it was touted to be transformational for his operations. After comparing multiple products, Simon and his colleagues chose to invest in specialised solar compacting smart bins, to help optimise public waste collections across the city (See Exhibit 2). A tender to purchase these solar compacting smart bins was drafted in collaboration with Dublin City Council’s smart city department. Included in this tender was the 24-month trialling of novel innovation services, under a ‘Smart Bins as a Service’ leasing payment plan. Though the primary focus for Simon was to use his capital budget to optimise waste management services, the trialling of these novel services was strongly supported by both the smart city department, and the chief executive’s office of the city council. Simon was open to exploring this innovation services model, but was grappling with a number of longer term concerns he hoped would be answered in the months ahead. For example, considering the capital investment already put in, was there enough of a return on investment to purchase even more smart bins? Also, could the differing capital and operational spending between outright purchasing (happening currently), and the alternative innovation services leasing payments prove too disruptive? At the same time, he thought about some members of the public who have long complained about overflowing bins, pest interferences, and other hazards involving public waste. Surely, scaling up usage of the smart bins will help assuage these concerns? And finally, if waste management did not gain from paying for these ‘innovation services’, then who would? Along with over 400 operational staff attached to waste management operations (See Exhibit 3), he wondered how their roles could be affected if there were plans to adopt these smart bins for the rest of the over 3000 public bins scattered across the city. Simon and his team had to carefully assess this interplay among people, processes, and technology, in order to manage the often-conflicting expectations that came with fostering innovation in traditional spaces.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Muma Case Review, v. 6, no. 14, p. 1-35

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