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New system for the control of waste collection door to door

Distromel has designed a new system for the control of waste collection door to door. The new system has GPS location, RFID identification and mobile applications, and it can also be complemented with the systems that have been so successful in collecting surface and underground containers.

Door-to-door collection has been a reality for 15 years in some Spanish municipalities. However, it is in the last five years that it has begun to gain importance since, according to the structure and design of certain municipalities, it is the most suitable, optimal and profitable collection. Speaking in aspects of sustainability, since socially it is already accepted, economically it is profitable and environmentally it is respectable with the environment. However, it should be mentioned that each municipality has a uniqueness and therefore must choose between the different types of collection that are available in the market.

Until today there was no Spanish technology company that had a complete and specific system for the control, management and optimization of door-to-door waste collection. Distromel with its latest developments in both software and hardware combines all the products necessary to obtain a comprehensive control of the dumping of citizens, the service performed by the company and the data obtained so that the competent public administration can consult and analyze.

View of the siGEUS software in the container / cube management module for door to door

The implementation of the door-to-door system has substantially improved selective waste collection because citizens do not have a choice when it comes to dumping the waste, but the service operators collect the waste, controlling that there are no improper bags and / or cubes Subsequently, these bags are poured into the truck and transported to the specific management plant. The correct separation in origin allows a less expensive treatment of the waste and therefore an economic saving and a reduction of the environmental impact.

In some cases this implementation has led to a significant improvement from 32% of selective separation to 80%, as is the case of the Pallars Sobirà Region in the province of Lleida. Between the Valencian Community, the Basque Country and Catalonia, there are more than 100 municipalities that already have the Door-to-Door implemented. In addition, some larger municipalities such as Vic and Girona are considering the possibility of including this type of collection in some of their neighborhoods. These facts indicate that it is a reality and that technology companies must be prepared to provide systems that allow quantifying and controlling waste discharged by citizens.

The control system for the door-to-door collection of Distromel is scalable and configurable according to the needs of the client, allowing the weighing system to be coupled only if the client wishes. Mainly the system is formed by GPS location of vehicles or operators, RFID identification through manual readers (bracelet, terminal or Smartphone format) and automatic (embedded in the vehicle for cubes), transponders (Tags), mobile applications Management Urban Services and SiGEUS management software with specific development for control and management of waste collection door to door.

For the proper functioning of the system citizens and users have a cube or bag that is identified by the UHF tag that is installed. The identification code of the tag is associated with the corresponding dwelling in the database, in order to manage the collection of waste by housing.

Buckets for door-to-door collection at the Regional Council of La Conca de Barberà

SiGEUS software allows the importation of citizens who benefit from this type of collection by facilitating the control of the distribution of cubes / bags to each home. Each cube must be identified by a UHF tag and also by a barcode that allows visual identification by the user.

The operator in charge of collecting the cubes / containers is provided with an RFID container reading device that is able to read the tag code of each container when picked up and automatically, that is, without this action interrupting its work. The operator also allows you to easily generate incidents through push buttons incorporated in the same device. Thus, if the operator observes any incident at the time of collection, the system can be configured to interpret the incidents generated by the operator. In addition, the system allows incidents with associated images to be made for repeated occasions when necessary. To do this, the operator must have a mobile application installed in a rogerized mobile terminal.

The GPS tracking system of Distromel guarantees the automatic dump of the information without the need for the intervention of the equipment operators and the transmission of the information in real time. In order to optimize and specify the maximum data collection, GPS devices must have at least data recording according to speed and course change, non-volatile memory of positions (when there is no GPRS coverage) and GPS antenna outside vehicle.

Bracelet to identify the Tag installed in the cubes

The RFID reader is a wristband type for the operator to wear on the wrist while performing their tasks without reading the tags interrupting their work and allowing the introduction of incidents when necessary. The device complies with some features such as GPRS and Bluetooth communication, minimum degree of tightness IP65, storage of up to 5000 records allowing proper operation in cases of lack of coverage, push buttons for quick introduction of incidents, acoustic and light warning to know the identification of the tag among others. This reader can be linked to the Mobile Urban Services Management application to generate incidents and link them to images.

In addition, the system must be able to connect to the CAN bus of the vehicle to obtain information on consumption, engine speed, working hours, etc.

This information must be comparable for months to see from the software, for example, an annual consultation of monthly consumption of the vehicle in question and a comparison of the current year with the previous one.

Distromel has been installing since 1999 different systems in the vehicles of waste collection and street cleaning that have helped to control and optimize all the tasks related to the urban services of companies and public entities.

With this solution, it is possible to agglutinate and streamline all urban management processes in an efficient, comprehensive and automated way.