The City of Edinburgh Council

Smart Waste Management Solution Creates Greener and Cleaner City

North was appointed by CGI to undertake a five-year Smart Waste Contract for the City of Edinburgh Council to support their plans to transform the capital into one of the world’s leading Smart Cities.

The deal was supported by a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant as part of the ‘Scotland’s 8th City – the Smart City’ programme. Where the City of Edinburgh Council will deliver three projects budgeted at £6.4m, of which £2.5m is part of the ERDF grant. Funding secured by the Council from Zero Waste Scotland through its Recycling Improvement Fund will also be used towards the scheme.

The development of a supporting Smart City Operations Centre will transform and enhance city management and the citizen experience by utilising data captured through a range of emerging technologies to drive transformational change.

North has been working with CGI and their industry-leading Smart City Platform to provide Smart Waste sensors and connectivity for the solution through the IoT Scotland network.

11,000 smart waste sensors are being installed in waste containers across the city as part of the project. Data and insights captured via the sensors will be key to developing and driving improvements and better waste management. Allowing the City of Edinburgh Council to improve services across the city while also supporting its Smart City journey and sustainability goals to achieve Net Zero in line with UK Government targets.

The IoT Scotland network will also be used to transmit data for other critical services to enhance the council’s digital vision. In parallel with the waste project, the council is rolling out a digitally enabled proactive service for Social Housing across the city, capturing data again through the IoT Scotland network.

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Benefits

  • Detection of waste levels helps to predict usage trends, optimise waste collections and manage routes more efficiently
  • Efficient waste collection processes, reduce the need for unnecessary pickups and fuel consumption that generate excess carbon emissions
  • Environmental hazards that can arise from overflowing bins are reduced as remote monitoring and alerts notify when bins are full enabling a more efficient service
  • Improved air quality creates a cleaner and greener city and reduces the Council’s environmental impact, helping to support their Net Zero targets
  • Delivers a more digitally enabled proactive service and addresses challenges rapidly