David Peterman, CEO of the Solid Waste Association of North America, pointed out that in 2018, big data will continue to be more and more popular in the recycling industry and will play an increasingly important role in the decision-making process. Peterman further pointed out that companies are paying more and more attention to the role of data in improving operational efficiency and reducing operating costs.
Anne Jermann, vice president of the National Waste and Recycling Association, points out that as technology advances and existing technologies continue to improve, the waste management industry will increasingly use technologies such as drones, mobile, and cloud computing.
In addition, advances in technology will enable operators of recycling facilities to more accurately classify waste streams entering recycling plants, thereby reducing impurities in recycled materials.
In addition, advances in technology will enable operators of recycling facilities to more accurately classify waste streams entering recycling plants, thereby reducing impurities in recycled materials.
Here are 8 major technology trends in the waste management industry in the eyes of American industry experts:
- Robot and optical sorting technology
In order to cope with China’s increasingly strict requirements on the quality of imported waste, the US waste management industry is also focusing on improving the quality of sorting results while developing new markets. In order to improve quality, it means that the sorting facility must upgrade the existing sorting equipment to reduce the content of impurities in the sorting result, and the most potential among all the technical means is the robot with artificial intelligence, and More accurate optical sorting technology.
2. Sensor for “on time collection”
Consignment is the most costly part of the waste management system. Therefore, investing in technology that reduces the cost of collecting and shipping will definitely yield a very high return. Using sensors to provide data to the receiving service provider, telling the placement of recyclables and residual waste in the container, it is possible to accurately tell the service provider if the container needs to be shipped and when it needs to be accepted. After obtaining the above information, the service provider can improve the efficiency of collection and transportation, which not only saves time and costs, but also improves customer satisfaction.
3. Mechanical sorting biological treatment
For communities that want to achieve the goal of “zero waste”, the biggest difficulty in achieving the goal is that there is both organic waste and inorganic waste in domestic waste. Even the most sophisticated recycling projects can encounter difficulties in disposing of up to 40-60% of the remaining waste. Under the dual pressure of high landfill disposal costs and zero waste target in the United States, the mechanical waste sorting biological treatment of the mixed waste will be used to produce methane and synthetic fuel from organic waste, which will be used in waste management in the United States. The market is taking an increasingly important position.
4. Vented composting
In the United States, almost all communities use simple composting to dispose of garden waste from homes. As the need to convert more organic waste into useful products is becoming more urgent, the scope of compost disposal is expanding and kitchen waste and biogas residues have been included. The use of vented composting not only enhances the controllability of the composting process, but also reduces the environmental footprint of the disposal facility and has the potential to increase cost-effectiveness. Therefore, in 2018, there will be more organic waste disposers in the United States using the aerated composting method.
5. Anaerobic digestion
In recent years, the United States has attached great importance to the sustainable management of materials. Therefore, finding sustainable management strategies for kitchen waste has always been the focus of industry attention. In order to achieve this goal, it is very important to reduce the amount of waste generated by kitchen waste and to divert the generated kitchen waste. For the generation of kitchen waste, the waste of food waste and management software is playing an increasingly important role in reducing the amount of production. For those inevitable kitchen waste, anaerobic digestion has become a very effective means of disposal. In 2018, more and more municipalities in the United States will use anaerobic digestion as a means of disposing of kitchen waste.
6. Fusion of food packaging removal equipment and wastewater biological anaerobic technology
In the United States, the spread of bio-anaerobic wastewater treatment technology has been very successful, so solid waste management operators want to take advantage of this technology to dispose of kitchen waste in a cost-effective manner. However, the management of the sewage treatment facility is unable to receive the kitchen waste with packaging, because the packaging will cause blockage of the pipeline. By introducing food packaging removal equipment into the process, this problem can be solved by dividing the waste into organic matter that can enter the wastewater treatment process and packaging materials that enter other disposal processes. Therefore, in 2018, with the integration of kitchen waste disposal and wastewater disposal, the market will have greater demand for food packaging removal equipment.
7. Driverless vehicle
The scarcity and safety considerations of the receiving vehicle drivers are two factors that will create conditions for unmanned vehicles to enter the waste management industry. Since waste collection and transportation is a very complicated task, it is highly probable that unmanned vehicles will be used first in other industries, but the unmanned transportation vehicles will still be the trend of the industry. Currently, manufacturers have tested unmanned garbage trucks in urban environments. For the sake of production safety, even if driverless driving is not fully realized, garbage trucks with collision avoidance function and automatic braking function are increasingly favored by the industry.
8. Internet of Things technology
The Internet of Things will continue to increase connectivity between commercial facilities, residential and waste management industries. Using IoT technology, direct contact can be established between smart bins and central disposal facilities to optimize the entire waste disposal process, making the industry more environmentally friendly while reducing time and capital costs.