RFID TECHNOLOGY FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT
WHAT DOES WASTE MANAGEMENT MEAN?
Waste refers to all unwanted or unusable materials that are produced by human activity: as quality of life rises and high rates of resources are consumed, also wastes grow, often far beyond the handling capacities of urban governments.
So, its management from inception to collection, transport, treatment, disposal and monitoring is a cost and a problem for the impact of wastes on the local and global environment but also a big opportunity.
WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
There are different waste management methods such as source reduction and reuse, animal feeding, recycling, composting, fermentation, landfills and incineration and, as we all know, each of us can take an active and responsible part at the process, starting from the right behaviors at home.
There is a clear need for virtuous management: if we don’t manage waste properly, it can harm our health, our environment and even our prosperity.
Poorly managed waste is contaminating the oceans, clogging drains and causing flooding, transmitting diseases, increasing respiratory problems from burning, harming animals that consume waste unknowingly, and affecting economic development such as through tourism. Not to mention crime organizations that benefit from illegal waste disposal.
Having an adequate waste management system on the contrary helps having a safer and better environment, reducing pollution, conserving and providing energy and creating employment around the recycling industry.
WHY IS RFID BETTER?
RFID is one of the most prominent technologies of today’s waste management sector.
Basically, RFID technology is an easy and effective way to allow digital data collection from labels or tags attached to bins, crane-lift igloos, road containers and dumpsters.
In an environmental context, RFID can be employed not only for bringing down waste management costs, but also to facilitate automating and streamlining waste identification, location and weight measurement, to identify missing or stolen bins, to track waste collection or waste trucks and also optimize the fleet management.
THE BENEFITS OF RFID
Main advantage is that RFID technology do not need line of sight and the RFID waste tag can be read without actually seeing it.
RFID tags are very effective in being read through a variety of conditions such as extreme temperature, soil, dust and dirt, fog, ice, paint, creased surfaces, and other visually and environmentally hard conditions.
There are some challenges to face: metal object or liquid containers are difficult to tag but nowadays there are plenty of possible solutions, low and high frequency tags, sealed and rugged models suitable for metal objects or harsh environments, tags with various levels of resistance to water, chemicals, shock and temperature variation: through a custom approach we can help you to find the best alternative.
HOW DOES RFID WORK?
With RFID achieving operational efficiency in this context is quite easy.
An RFID-based waste management system mainly consists of smart RFID tags, readers used by operators or installed on the truck and a waste management IT system.
The options are two: the operator can use a mobile reader to identify the waste quickly at a short distance, or it is possible to equip the truck with a fixed reader to receive data without the driver having to leave the truck. In both cases it is possible to geolocalize the readings.
Business process automation thanks to RFID is assured and waste management can be optimized.
ARE RFID TAGS SUSTAINABLE?
Talking about using technology to improve waste management and sustainability we have to mention that also RFID tags may contribute to a better world, thanks to Green RFID tags.
Green RFID tags are not composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and have an antenna that is not made by metal so they are fully respectful of the environment, fully recyclable, while offering the same smart and powerful performances of “standard” tags: we’ll soon talk about sustainability but if you want to know more please check this out.
EAGER TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RFID?
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