Digitizing Waste Collections through Handling, Tracking, and Recycling to Disposal: Using technology to make solid waste management more efficient
Start of implementation: 2020
Technology service providers: Recity
ITD’s Partner Department: Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department
In line with ADB’s Operational Priorities:
· Addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities
o Quality jobs generated
· Tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability
o Environmental sustainability enhanced
· Making cities more livable
o Improve access, quality and reliability of services in urban areas
o Improve urban environment, climate resilience and disaster management of cities·
ADB launched in 2020 a challenge covering the development of a digital solution to better manage the waste management process. Out of 105 teams that participated in the challenge, Recity, which is based in India, was selected to test its waste intelligence platform in Konark, a town in Odisha in India and a popular tourist destination. Konark struggled with managing solid waste generated by both residents and tourists.
Recity digitally mapped property units in June 2020. QR tagging of the collection points, transport vehicles, and processing facilities also took place within the same month. The QR codes had various purposes: (i) identify property units where waste was already collected, tag property units that did not segregate waste, and collect user fees for waste workers; and (ii) file grievances for property unit owners, like uncollected waste according to schedule. Property units were clustered, and unique QR code stickers were installed in individual and clustered units from July to August 2020. Recity educated the property owners on the use of QR codes.
Residential and commercial property units were surveyed to gather relevant data on solid waste collection schedules and how much of the waste was collected and segregated. Information was also gathered on the waste collection process, including whether the waste materials got mixed during transport, the ratio between property units to waste workers, and issues during the waste collection process.
In September 2020, waste workers were trained to use the app. They were provided with gloves, allowing them to use smartphones even when collecting waste. Supervisors responsible for waste collection and material recovery facilities were also trained so they could identify where the bottlenecks were in their operations.
The app was first tested in three wards before it was scaled up to cover 4,169 property units across all 13 wards in Konark between October and December 2020.
Weekly war rooms involving all stakeholders were held to discuss and address implementation issues, which included:
• Limited technological capacity of the waste workers. Many waste workers neither owned nor knew how to use smartphones. Recity provided them with mobile devices and digital literacy training.
• Tampered QR Codes. Some owners painted over the QR codes when they renovated their properties, while others outright removed them. Recity had to reorient them on the importance of QR codes.
• Poor internet connectivity. Some areas had poor internet connectivity that prevented waste workers from using the app. To resolve this, an offline version of the app was developed, with daily data reconciliation for app synchronization.
The results of this initiative were:
• Higher materials recovery. The use of Recity’s end-to-end digital waste tracking platform led to 837.2 kilograms /day quantity of daily waste from the property units to the microcomposting centers. More recovered materials also meant higher incomes for the processing facilities.
• Waste workers provided formal employment and benefits. From being informal workers, the waste workers were formally employed by the local government with regular salaries that met the prescribed minimum wage requirements and benefits such as social security.
• Collected fees tracked. ₹338,240 (approximately $4,653) worth of collection fees were tracked and collected from property units.
• Generated waste collection insights. Data relevant to solid waste management, including where the hotspots for low collection and segregation, were collected. Getting the relevant information, in turn, helped increase waste collection and segregation by 5%. The availability of the information also supported data-driven decision-making by key stakeholders.
• New app feature. Through this initiative, Recity developed a new feature on the platform that allowed users to buy solid waste materials from waste workers through the app.
While the new leadership in Konark City did not consider technology adaptation as one of its priorities, engaging with ADB provided Recity the means to drive more capital for its operations to build more technology and have wider coverage.