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Northern Trains and waste management partner Biffa are deploying smart bin sensors to help increase recycling and support sustainability at 70 stations across the Northeast.
Manufactured in the UK by IoT Solutions Group, these sensors give Northern Trains real-time recycling volumes from individual bins, which help to monitor and improve recycling rates.
Northern Trains has an ambitious target to recycle 70 per cent of the waste produced across its sites this year. Measuring these rates accurately and making quantifiable improvements quickly is therefore essential. This solution also allows the team to adjust recycling schemes in response to seasonal trends, preventing bin overflow and the resulting environmental pollution.
As well as continually monitoring the fill level of the bin, these smart bin sensors also monitor and record the lid position and bin temperature, a valuable additional when managing the security at remote locations. Clever algorithms are applied to the fill level data, which convert it to an estimated weight to deliver real-time, accurate recycling data.
Chris Griffin, Biffa’s Head of Commercial Developments said: “The Biffa team are proud to be supporting Northern Trains with their sustainability goals with this hugely beneficial technology. IoT Solutions Group have been a great partner to work with and have demonstrated that exploring new technology doesn’t have to be complicated! The ease and speed of the installation means that there has also been minimal service disruption.”
Nick Coleman, Energy & Environment Support Manager for Northern Trains, who helps manage the project, commented: “The data that these sensors provide is so valuable for our sustainability targets. By knowing where we are now, we can accurately set a benchmark and identify how we can improve. With the sensors continually monitoring the fill levels, we can quickly and easily measure the impact of various initiatives to encourage more recycling, helping us reach that important 70 per cent goal.”
Emma Mahy, CEO and Co-founder of IoT Solutions Group, feels honoured to be delivering solutions for this important project. She added: “We started the company four years ago to deliver solutions for key data collection and insight challenges, and we are thrilled to be working with Biffa and Northern Trains. Our team thrives on making valuable data easily accessible in a useable way to make a real difference, which is especially important for measured sustainability improvements.”
