Household Waste and Recycling Support Mobile App

Albion环境有限公司是一家环境咨询公司，在废物领域提供管理支持和培训，定期与地方当局和私人废物管理公司合作。我们已经确定了市政废物收集服务中反复出现的问题，因此我们设计了一个项目，以改善市政和住户之间的沟通。由于理事会和住户之间沟通不畅而产生的一些关键问题包括；由于垃圾箱数量的增加和由于不充分的回收指导和不同的回收计划导致的高污染率造成的复杂的收集时间表造成的混乱。其他确定的问题包括错过垃圾箱收集，由于恶劣天气和公众假期导致的延误/取消，以及人员和机械问题导致的收集延迟。由于目前的通信方法有很大的缺点，因此需要改进。地方议会在网站上发布的信息不能直接送达住户，邮寄纸质副本非常昂贵，不能提供最新信息，也不环保。我们已经确定了一个项目，将有助于解决上述所有问题，同时带来额外的短期和长期利益。该项目将开发一款应用程序，对委员会和住户都有直接的好处。住户将受益于；*方便访问每个垃圾箱收集日的日历，包括电话通知。*应列出一份可查阅的废物类别清单，列明垃圾桶废物的正确颜色。理事会将受益于；*通过向居民提供直接联系，提高客户参与度。*提高回收利用率，减少污染，带来环境和经济效益。*因人手不足、故障或恶劣天气而导致服务更改时，发出通知。这个系统可以在英国的每个议会实施，应用程序将会更新，以反映他们的回收实践。这将有助于通过提供全面的指导来降低污染率，减少围绕垃圾箱收集时间表的混乱，并为议会提供与其居民的直接联系。这可以用来发送推送通知，详细说明当前收集系统的任何变化；路线变更、恶劣天气、人员配备问题、公共假日等。拥有这款应用程序将对应对Covid - 19等事件大有裨益，这些事件需要在短时间内对集合进行重大调整。我们的应用程序将为议会提供直接访问公众的渠道，与目前的方法相比，允许他们以更直接、更有效的方式传达变化。目前，一款应用程序已经开发出来，可以解决上述所有问题，并将于2020年11月初向南艾尔郡议会的居民推出。这项扩展工作的目的是首先加快该应用程序在英国所有废物收集当局的推广，其次改善废物搜索设施，以提高回收率。这将要求我们与超市、废物生产商以及回收部门合作，因为那里有一些令人兴奋的机会。我们将利用谷歌镜头、摄影识别技术、人工智能、游戏技术等工具进行进一步研究，建立一个“wiki”式的系统，以识别产品及其回收/处置路线。

Albion Environmental Ltd is an environmental consultancy firm providing management support and training in the waste sector, regularly working with local authorities and private waste management companies. We have identified recurring issues with council's waste collection services and as a result we have designed a project that would improve communication between councils and householders.Some of the key issues that have arisen from poor communication between councils and householders include; confusion caused by complicated collection schedules due to increasing number of bins and high contamination rates due to inadequate recycling guidance and varying recycling schemes across councils. Other issues identified include missed bin collections, delays/cancelations due adverse weather and public holidays, and staffing and mechanical issues delaying collections.There is a need for improvement as current communication methods have significant draw backs. Councils posting on websites does not directly reach householders and mailing paper copies is very expensive, cannot provide updated information and is not environmentally friendly.We have identified a project that would assist with all of the above issues while bringing additional short- and long-term benefits. This project will develop an app which will have immediate benefits to both the councils and householders.Householders will benefit from having;* Easily accessible calendar for each bins collection day, including phone notifications.* A searchable list of waste types detailing correct colour of bin waste items should be placed in.Council's will benefit from having;* Improved customer engagement by providing direct link to residents.* Increase recycling rates and reduced contamination, bringing environmental and economic benefits.* Push out notifications for changes in service due to staff shortages, breakdowns or adverse weather.This system could be implemented in every UK council and the app would be updated to reflect their recycling practises. This would help to reduce contamination rates by providing comprehensive guidance, reduce confusion around bin collection schedules and provide councils with a direct link to its residents. This could be used to send push notifications detailing any changes to current collection systems caused by; route changes, adverse weather, staffing issues, public holidays etc.Having the app in place would be hugely beneficial for dealing with events such as Covid 19, where significant changes in collections have been required at short notice. Our app would provide councils with direct access, to the public, allowing them to relay changes in a more direct and efficient manner compared to current methods.An app has now been developed which addresses all the above issues and will be rolled out to residents of South Ayrshire Council early Nov. 2020. The aim of this extended work is to firstly speed up the roll out of this app to all waste collection authorities in the UK and secondly to improve the waste search facility to improve recycling rates. This will require us to engage with supermarkets and waste producers and also to the recycling sector, where there are some exciting opportunities.We will carry out additional research using tools such as google lens, photographic identification techniques, AI, gaming technology to establish a “wiki” type system to identify products and their recycling / disposal route.