Design and construction of a smart dustbin system with internet of things (IoT) notification

Abstract

The collection of waste is a very much needed city service and this is cost expensive. Various approaches have been used by environmental sanitary agents to address this challenge but little successes have been achieved. This has necessitated the design and construction of a smart dustbin with intelligence to enhance waste management procedures, thereby reducing the overhead cost of manual waste management. The system uses PIR sensor, ultrasonic sensor, servo motor, SIM800l GSM module and Atmega328p. The dustbin automatically opens when it detects human presence using PIR sensor and servo motor. It monitors the level of the garbage using ultrasonic sensor and updates the status of the dustbin online to a web interface and also sends quick messages to collection truck drivers for disposal when full. An indicator unit is placed on the dustbin that intimates the user on the status of the dustbin. HTML, CSS and PHP were used to develop the web interface and database. The various units are integrated using Atmega328p microcontroller while C++ is used to run the hardware. Once these smart dustbins are implemented on a large scale by replacing our traditional bins present today, waste can be managed efficiently, and there will be a decrease in the environmental waste and operational cost of waste management. The developed system was tested and found to perform efficiently according to the objectives of the research.