Smart Litter Receptacles Cut Waste Expense

It’s 2017, and smart, connected phones, watches, thermostats and even refrigerators (to name just a few examples) no longer occupy the fringe of technology. In fact, our culture’s epic shift toward “The Internet of Things,” as it’s known, is in full swing. So it should come as little surprise that even within industries that are traditionally late adopters of new technologies, forward-thinking companies are making advancements to everyone’s benefit—which is why there’s a smart litter receptacle coming to a city near you.

Victor Stanley, a leading international designer and manufacturer of premium outdoor furnishings, has introduced a new generation of connected, intelligent waste receptacles. They’re smart enough, in fact, to save an estimated 20%–40% on litter and recycling collection expenses each year.

Traditional static systems allow for some receptacles to overfill before they are collected—an aesthetic and olfactory nuisance, for sure—while others that sit empty are collected anyway. Victor Stanley’s innovative approach allocates collection resources only where and when they are needed. It turns out these smart receptacles save not only time, but also decrease fuel costs, carbon footprints and unsightly waste overflows. 

Victor Stanley’s Street Level Sensing™ technology and the Relay web interface integrate to become an intelligent waste management system. Using GPS in conjunction with other sensors, the receptacles continuously monitor and transmit fill levels, system temperatures, weights, locations and more to cloud-based web portals. And they work with any solid waste or recyclable, too. Monitoring of containers provides a holistic view of an area’s trash and recycling status, and improves landfill diversion rates. Individuals charged with waste control can now employ networks of connected receptacles and software that enable collection plannings and routings that are substantially more efficient. To maintain aesthetics, Victor Stanley’s sensors are hidden within their receptacles. An additional benefit of this is the prevention of unwelcome tampering.

Street Level Sensing™ is available in Victor Stanley’s new receptacles and as a retrofit for thousands of their side-door receptacles currently in use worldwide. Learn what Relay can do for your bottom line, victorstanley.com/product/relay.