Ekocharita is a textile waste collection company that collects approximately 3,000 tons of textile waste annually, revealing the results of a waste monitoring project using Sensoneo waste monitoring sensors powered by the LoRaWAN IoT network.
Since January 2021, Ekocharita will be installed Sensoneo Smart Sensor arrive Monitoring the filling level of the container real time. By the end of June, they had monitored 600 containers, and thanks to the data obtained from the sensors, they succeeded in significantly improving operational management because they:
- Reduce the time required to collect 1 ton of textile waste by 30%,
- Reduce the cost of garbage collection by 20%,
- And make the logistics process smoother and more organized.
“We can guarantee to collect the goods we need every day to achieve a smooth logistics process-and it takes less time and kilometers than before.”
Ekocharita operates in an area of 16,000 square kilometers and manages 1,300 containers for clothes, shoes, toys and home textiles. Containers are usually distributed in busy urban areas. There are textile waste containers nearby to encourage citizens to sort clothes properly.
The uniqueness of textile waste containers is their very irregular filling cycle. The speed of container filling is absolutely unpredictable, which makes the operation and logistics of collecting these wastes difficult, and imposes high financial and time requirements on management personnel. Real-time online monitoring of filling levels can significantly improve operations and reduce costs.
Implementation of waste monitoring sensors
Ekocharita began installing sensors in January 2021, thanks to Sensoneo’s EIC accelerator grant, which was used to deploy its solutions on a large scale to demonstrate the positive environmental, operational and financial advantages of its smart waste management .
Sensoneo sensors use ultrasonic technology to monitor the liquid level in the container 24 times a day. In addition to this data, they also monitor temperature and provide fire and tilt alarms. For data transmission, the company decided to use the LoRaWAN Internet of Things network. With each batch of installation, the positive impact on operations becomes more and more obvious. “After 2 hours of training at Sensoneo, we installed the sensor ourselves and we were surprised by how simple it was-it only took less than 5 minutes to install and set up the sensor,” Juraj Kunak, CEO and founder of Ekocharita, explained.
The drivers who initially opposed the implementation of the new technology became very proactive because they were aware of the actual positive impact on their workloads. Jura Kunak: “Even those who say,’I don’t know how to use it; I can’t do it with a smartphone.” The first to turn on the smartphone at six in the morning, draw 12 red dots along the way, and return at 10:00 with a full car. “
Radical change in operation
and Smart waste monitoring On board, Ekocharita completely redesigned the way they operate. The entire network is digitized, and drivers can easily and quickly identify the containers that really need to be picked up, so that they can use their time more efficiently: “Now, the driver wakes up in the morning, opens the app, and can see the orange and red dots-this is where he should go to quickly collect the entire car-because this is the indicator based on which the driver is paid.”
Before the advent of sensors, the collection was based solely on the driver’s estimate: “They drove 8-9 hours to collect a complete car. They ran in circles, assuming that after 6 months, the drivers were completely exhausted. Now they can start from 7 or 8 to 12: It ends at 00 or 1-2:00 in the afternoon, and then they can go home to reunite with their families.”
“We know that 6 fully loaded cars come to the warehouse every day.”
The ability to select only almost full containers for collection also allows Ekocharita to ensure that they collect the required amount of material for easy and smooth warehouse management: “For example, before the sensors are equipped, 5 drivers will be full, but one driver will be empty. One day, you can say that it doesn’t matter, but after 30 days, you will lose 15 tons of the warehouse, which is the biggest loss.”
Great advantage over competitors
Collecting rubbish in time means avoiding overflow of rubbish bins. For many of Ekocharita’s business partners, the potentially messy and dirty environment around the trash can is a huge obstacle: “Having sensors means being reliable for partners. This is why we are in shopping malls, schools , Universities, kindergartens… deploy more and more containers in places very close to us… new areas that I haven’t been to before, because there is another competitor. Now we can replace them.”
“Digitalization has not only helped our operations, it has also opened up a whole new customer base for us.”
Cost and benefit
Thanks to Sensoneo’s EIC accelerator grant, Ekocharita was able to implement the solution. In this way, companies can immediately test and experience the practical benefits of large-scale smart waste management deployments. Of course, if the company buys the solution in a standard way, the speed will be different. This is why the company also calculates the return on investment (if the investment is fully used for them). To calculate the return on investment, the company uses Sensono’s monthly “smart waste as a service” pricing.
“If we buy the sensor completely, we will get a return on investment within 7 months,” Juraj Kunak, CEO and founder of Ekocharita, explained.
