Scotland Turns Rubbish Bins Into Smart Sensors

Some 11,000 rubbish bins in the Scottish city of Edinburgh are now operating with smart sensors as part of the first phase of the capital’s smart city project.

The sensors installed by U.K. IoT company North enable "clever waste management" by detecting waste levels and predicting usage trends, allowing the council to optimize collection and manage routes more efficiently.

The sensors also feed into a wider IoT Scotland network, which is being used to transmit data for other critical services to enhance Scotland’s digital vision.

In parallel with the waste project, the Edinburgh council will roll out a "digitally enabled proactive service" for social housing across the city, using the same network, trialing humidity, temperature and CO2 sensors in 500 council properties.

In another part of the smart city project, Edinburgh also sought to address digital learning in schools by handing out 44,000 digital devices to 23 secondary schools, 90 primary schools, 11 special education schools and 102 early learning centers.

At the project's core is the Smart City Operations Center, which was born out of the partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council and CGI, a primary provider of end-to-end managed IT services for the council.

The council has reportedly realized savings of GBP45 million since the partnership began in 2015, with an additional GBP11 million saved in 2018, and an extension agreed last year until 2029 is expected to realize a further GBP12 million. 

Replacing an outdated control center, the new smart operations center will receive real-time data from the CCTV network 24/7.

This will integrate other technologies which will help to improve traffic flow, transport infrastructure and city planning and collectively improve the city’s carbon footprint.

Image credit: iStockphoto/paddythegolfer