Rapid urbanization and continuous population growth have made municipal solid waste management increasingly challenging. These challenges highlight the need for smarter and automated waste management solutions. This paper presents the design and evaluation of an integrated waste management framework that combines two connected systems, a robotic waste segregation module and an optimized bio-digestor. The robotic waste segregation system uses a MyCobot 280 Jetson Nano robotic arm along with YOLOv8 object detection and robot operating system (ROS)-based path planning to identify and sort waste in real time. It classifies waste into four different categories with high precision, reducing the need for manual intervention. After segregation, the biodegradable waste is transferred to a bio-digestor system equipped with multiple sensors. These sensors continuously monitor key parameters, including temperature, pH, pressure, and motor revolutions per minute. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, combined with a regression model, is used to dynamically adjust system parameters. This intelligent optimization approach ensures stable operation and maximizes digestion efficiency unde
Every human being in this world produces waste. South Africa is a developing country with many townships that have limited waste resources. Over-increasing population growth overpowers the volume of most municipal authorities to provide even the most essential services. Waste in townships is produced via littering, dumping of bins, cutting of trees, dumping of waste near rivers, and overrunning of waste bins. Waste increases diseases, air pollution, and environmental pollution, and lastly increases gas emissions that contribute to the release of greenhouse gases. The ungathered waste is dumped widely in the streets and drains contributing to flooding, breeding of insects, rodent vectors, and spreading of diseases. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to design a smart waste management system for the city of Johannesburg. The city of Johannesburg contains waste municipality workers and has provided some areas with waste resources such as waste bins and trucks for collecting waste. But the problem is that the resources only are not enough to solve the problem of waste in the city. The waste municipality uses traditional ways of collecting waste such as going to each street and picking
Waste management is a critical global issue with significant environmental and public health implications. It has become more destructive during large-scale events such as the annual pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest religious gatherings. This event's popularity has attracted millions worldwide, leading to significant and un-predictable accumulation of waste. Such a tremendous number of visitors leads to in-creased waste management issues at the Grand Mosque and other holy sites, highlighting the need for an effective solution other than traditional methods based on rigid collection schedules. To address this challenge, this research proposed an innovative solution that is context-specific and tailored to the unique requirements of pilgrimage season: a Smart Waste Management System, called TUHR, that utilizes the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. This system encompasses ultrasonic sensors that monitor waste levels in each container at the performance sites. Once the container reaches full capacity, the sensor communicates with the microcontroller, which alerts the relevant authorities. Moreover, our system can detect harmful substances suc
Urban waste management remains a critical challenge for the development of smart cities. Despite the growing number of litter detection datasets, the problem of monitoring overflowing waste containers, particularly from images captured by garbage trucks, has received little attention. While existing datasets are valuable, they often lack annotations for specific container tracking or are captured in static, decontextualized environments, limiting their utility for real-world logistics. To address this gap, we present StreetView-Waste, a comprehensive dataset of urban scenes featuring litter and waste containers. The dataset supports three key evaluation tasks: (1) waste container detection, (2) waste container tracking, and (3) waste overflow segmentation. Alongside the dataset, we provide baselines for each task by benchmarking state-of-the-art models in object detection, tracking, and segmentation. Additionally, we enhance baseline performance by proposing two complementary strategies: a heuristic-based method for improved waste container tracking and a model-agnostic framework that leverages geometric priors to refine litter segmentation. Our experimental results show that while
The population of the urban areas is increasing daily, and this migration is causing serious environmental pollution. A larger population is creating pressure on the municipality's waste management and the city corporations of developing countries such as Bangladesh, further threatening human health. New generation technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT)-based waste management systems, can help improve this serious issue. IoT-enabled smart dustbins and mobile applications-based interactive management can effectively solve this problem. In this article, we combine these two technologies to offer an acceptable solution to this problem. The proposed waste management model enables smart dustbins to communicate with waste collectors or waste control centers whenever it is necessary. Additionally, city dwellers can use mobile applications to report their observations in their neighborhoods. As a result, both sensors and humans are involved directly in the development loop. We have conducted a detailed survey to study the acceptance of such a system in the community and received some encouraging results.
Food waste has a significant detrimental economic, environmental and social impact. Recent efforts in HCI re-search have examined ways of influencing surplus food waste management. In this paper, we conduct a research survey to investigate and compare the effectiveness of existing approaches in food waste management throughout its lifecycle from agricultural production, post-harvest handling and storage, processing, distribution and consumption. The objectives of the survey are 1) to identify methods in food waste management, 2) their area of focus, 3) the ICT techniques they apply, 4) and the food waste lifecycle they target. In addition, we analyse if 5) they provide an open access API for food waste data analysis. Based on the literature analysis, we then highlight their pros and cons with respect to applications in food waste management. The implications of this research could present a new opportunity for interested stack-holders and future technologies to play a key role in reducing domestic and national food waste.
Garbage production and littering are persistent global issues that pose significant environmental challenges. Despite large-scale efforts to manage waste through collection and sorting, existing approaches remain inefficient, leading to inadequate recycling and disposal. Therefore, developing advanced AI-based systems is less labor intensive approach for addressing the growing waste problem more effectively. These models can be applied to sorting systems or possibly waste collection robots that may produced in the future. AI models have grown significantly at identifying objects through object detection. This paper reviews the implementation of AI models for classifying trash through object detection, specifically focusing on using YOLO V5 for training and testing. The study demonstrates how YOLO V5 can effectively identify various types of waste, including plastic, paper, glass, metal, cardboard, and biodegradables.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a paradigm characterized by a network of embedded sensors and services. These sensors are incorporated to collect various information, track physical conditions, e.g., waste bins' status, and exchange data with different centralized platforms. The need for such sensors is increasing; however, proliferation of technologies comes with various challenges. For example, how can IoT and its associated data be used to enhance waste management? In smart cities, an efficient waste management system is crucial. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT-enabled approaches can empower cities to manage the waste collection. This work proposes an intelligent approach to route recommendation in an IoT-enabled waste management system given spatial constraints. It performs a thorough analysis based on AI-based methods and compares their corresponding results. Our solution is based on a multiple-level decision-making process in which bins' status and coordinates are taken into account to address the routing problem. Such AI-based models can help engineers design a sustainable infrastructure system.
This paper describes the International Disruptive Information Solutions hackathon and one the winning solutions. The purpose of the hackathon was to promote the use of disruptive ICT technologies (e.g. IoT, Big data, AI, blockchain) in urban infrastructures to create innovative waste management solutions in a smart city context. 29 students enrolled into this hackathon and in the end 4 teams submitted their solutions to the challenges. The winning proposal EcoQ, an approach for plogging collecting trashes while jogging, answered more than well to the presented challenge on waste management and engagement. The original idea was extended and partly refocused during an internship. As the outcome of the internship a mobile application for organizing and holding waste collection events was developed. This mobile application was shortly tested in a real environment and it provides a working citizen-centric platform, which enables anyone to arrange waste management events, and motivates other residents to participate in these activities.
Since the early 90s, the evolution of the Business Process Management (BPM) discipline has been punctuated by successive waves of automation technologies. Some of these technologies enable the automation of individual tasks, while others focus on orchestrating the execution of end-to-end processes. The rise of Generative and Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening the way for another such wave. However, this wave is poised to be different because it shifts the focus from automation to autonomy and from design-driven management of business processes to data-driven management, leveraging process mining techniques. This position paper, based on a keynote talk at the 2025 Workshop on AI for BPM, outlines how process mining has laid the foundations on top of which agents can sense process states, reason about improvement opportunities, and act to maintain and optimize performance. The paper proposes an architectural vision for Agentic Business Process Management Systems (A-BPMS): a new class of platforms that integrate autonomy, reasoning, and learning into process management and execution. The paper contends that such systems must support a continuum of processes, spanning from
Our everyday data processing activities create massive amounts of data. Like physical waste and trash, unwanted and unused data also pollutes the digital environment by degrading the performance and capacity of storage systems and requiring costly disposal. In this paper, we propose using the lessons from real life waste management in handling waste data. We show the impact of waste data on the performance and operational costs of our computing systems. To allow better waste data management, we define a waste hierarchy for digital objects and provide insights into how to identify and categorize waste data. Finally, we introduce novel ways of reusing, reducing, and recycling data and software to minimize the impact of data wastage
Improper solid waste management represents both a serious threat to ecosystem health and a significant source of revenues for criminal organizations perpetrating environmental crimes. This issue can be mitigated thanks to the increasing availability of Very-High-Resolution Remote Sensing (VHR RS) images. Modern image-analysis tools support automated photo-interpretation and large territory scanning in search of illegal waste disposal sites. This paper illustrates a semi-automatic waste detection pipeline, developed in collaboration with a regional environmental protection agency, for detecting candidate illegal dumping sites in VHR RS images. To optimize the effectiveness of the waste detector at the core of the pipeline, extensive experiments evaluate such design choices as the network architecture, the ground resolution and geographic span of the input images, as well as the pretraining procedures. The best model attains remarkable performance, achieving 92.02 % F1-Score and 94.56 % Accuracy. A generalization study assesses the performance variation when the detector processes images from various territories substantially different from the one used during training, incurring onl
Current disposal facilities for coarse-grained waste perform manual sorting of materials with heavy machinery. Large quantities of recyclable materials are lost to coarse waste, so more effective sorting processes must be developed to recover them. Two key aspects to automate the sorting process are object detection with material classification in mixed piles of waste, and autonomous control of hydraulic machinery. Because most objects in those accumulations of waste are damaged or destroyed, object detection alone is not feasible in the majority of cases. To address these challenges, we propose a classification of materials with multispectral images of ultraviolet (UV), visual (VIS), near infrared (NIR), and short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrums. Solution for autonomous control of hydraulic heavy machines for sorting of bulky waste is being investigated using cost-effective cameras and artificial intelligence-based controllers.
Due to the wider usage of electrical and electronic products throughout the country, Electronic waste (E-waste) is growing and creating problems. E-waste contains toxic materials which may cause severe health risk and environmental damage. Bangladesh produces almost 2.7 million metric tons of E-waste per year and stays on high risk. This paper indicates the problem and suggests proper management of E-waste.
Parameter monitoring and control systems are crucial in the industry as they enable automation processes that improve productivity and resource optimization. These improvements also help to manage environmental factors and the complex interactions between multiple inputs and outputs required for production management. This paper proposes an automation system for broiler management based on a simulation scenario that involves sensor networks and embedded systems. The aim is to create a transmission network for monitoring and controlling broiler temperature and feeding using the Internet of Things (IoT), complemented by a dashboard and a cloud-based service database to track improvements in broiler management. We look forward this work will serve as a guide for stakeholders and entrepreneurs in the animal production industry, fostering sustainable development through simple and cost-effective automation solutions. The goal is for them to scale and integrate these recommendations into their existing operations, leading to more efficient decision-making at the management level.
The waste of electrical and electronic equipment has been increased due to the fast evolution of technology products and competition of many IT sectors. Every year millions of tons of electronic waste are thrown into the environment which causes high consequences for human health. Therefore, it is crucial to control this waste flow using technology, especially using Artificial Intelligence but also reclamation of critical raw materials for new production processes. In this paper, we focused on the measurement of recyclability of waste electronic components (WECs) from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) using mathematical innovation model. This innovative approach evaluates both the recyclability and recycling difficulties of WECs, integrating an AI model for improved disassembly and sorting. Assessing the recyclability of individual electronic components present on WPCBs provides insight into the recovery potential of valuable materials and indicates the level of complexity involved in recycling in terms of economic worth and production utility. This novel measurement approach helps AI models in accurately determining the number of classes to be identified and sorted during the a
Generative AI technologies, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), have transformed information management systems but introduced substantial biases that can compromise their effectiveness in informing business decision-making. This challenge presents information management scholars with a unique opportunity to advance the field by identifying and addressing these biases across extensive applications of LLMs. Building on the discussion on bias sources and current methods for detecting and mitigating bias, this paper seeks to identify gaps and opportunities for future research. By incorporating ethical considerations, policy implications, and sociotechnical perspectives, we focus on developing a framework that covers major stakeholders of Generative AI systems, proposing key research questions, and inspiring discussion. Our goal is to provide actionable pathways for researchers to address bias in LLM applications, thereby advancing research in information management that ultimately informs business practices. Our forward-looking framework and research agenda advocate interdisciplinary approaches, innovative methods, dynamic perspectives, and rigorous evaluation to ensure fairnes
The US Department of Energy decided in 2000 to treat its sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel, produced for experiments on breeder reactors, with an electrochemical process. The metallic waste produced is to be cast into ingots and the salt waste further processed to form a ceramic waste form for disposal in a mined repository. However, alternative disposal pathways for metallic and salt waste streams are being investigated that may reduce the processing complexity. As summarized here, performance assessments analyzing the direct disposal the salt waste demonstrate that both mined repositories in salt and deep boreholes in basement crystalline rock can easily accommodate the salt waste. Also summarized here is an analysis of the feasibility of transporting the salt waste in a proposed vessel. The vessel is viable for transport to and disposal in a generic mined repository in salt or deep borehole but a portion of the salt waste would need to be diluted for disposal in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The generally positive results continue to demonstrate the feasibility of direct disposal of salt waste after electrochemical processing of spent nuclear fuel.
An efficient Municipal solid waste (MSW) system is critical to modern cities in order to enhance sustainability and livability of urban life. With this aim, the planning phase of the MSW system should be carefully addressed by decision makers. However, planning success is dependent on many sources of uncertainty that can affect key parameters of the system, e.g., the waste generation rate in an urban area. With this in mind, this paper contributes with a robust optimization model to design the network of collection points (i.e., location and storage capacity), which are the first points of contact with the MSW system. A central feature of the model is a bi-objective function that aims at simultaneously minimizing the network costs of collection points and the required collection frequency to gather the accumulated waste (as a proxy of the collection cost). The value of the model is demonstrated by comparing its solutions with those obtained from its deterministic counterpart over a set of realistic instances considering different scenarios defined by different waste generation rates. The results show that the robust model finds competitive solutions in almost all cases investigated
The detection and characterization of illegal solid waste disposal sites are essential for environmental protection, particularly for mitigating pollution and health hazards. Improperly managed landfills contaminate soil and groundwater via rainwater infiltration, posing threats to both animals and humans. Traditional landfill identification approaches, such as on-site inspections, are time-consuming and expensive. Remote sensing is a cost-effective solution for the identification and monitoring of solid waste disposal sites that enables broad coverage and repeated acquisitions over time. Earth Observation (EO) satellites, equipped with an array of sensors and imaging capabilities, have been providing high-resolution data for several decades. Researchers proposed specialized techniques that leverage remote sensing imagery to perform a range of tasks such as waste site detection, dumping site monitoring, and assessment of suitable locations for new landfills. This review aims to provide a detailed illustration of the most relevant proposals for the detection and monitoring of solid waste sites by describing and comparing the approaches, the implemented techniques, and the employed d