An internet of things (IoT) based solid waste monitoring system

The population growth in Windhoek has led to an increase in the number of people sharing resources around institutions and as well as habitational areas. This has led to difficulties in managing solid waste around these areas. Many entities such as institutions make use of manual ways of collecting waste. In this case, a waste management company collects garbage on a specific day of the week. This, in turn, leads to overflowing of some of the main bins around the areas, as people still tend to use the garbage bins despite being full. Overflowing of the waste bins might have a significant impact on the health and comfortability of the individuals around the area. This is due to the production of bad odor and air pollution from the toxic gases produced. This research proposes the development of an Internet of Things (IoT) based Solid Waste Monitoring prototype that detects the level of the garbage in the bin in real-time and notifies relevant authorities with the bin location when the garbage is full. The prototype contains an An Arduino microcontroller is placed on the bin together with a sensor that monitors the garbage level in the bin, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module to identify the bin location and a Short Message Service (SMS) module to aid in sending an SMS. A webpage to monitor the real-time garbage bin levels can be accessed remotely by an authorized user. The Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) aids the development of the proposed prototype. This therefore, suggests a smart way of monitoring solid waste around the institution and providing notifications if the bins are ready for collection and the location. The solution in turn, prevents the overflowing of bins, therefore, maintaining a clean and safe environment.