Romania is Modernising its Waste Management with ‘Smart Bin’ Technology

The Romanian city of Iasi has joined the likes of London and New York as it rolled out new Smart Bins across the city. Iasi is the only city in southeast Europe that has the Smart Bin technology. Featuring solar panels and functioning as a Wi-Fi hotspot, the most impressive thing about these bins, as far as we are concerned, is what they mean for Romanian waste management.

30 of these Smart Bins have been installed throughout Iasi and, at €7,000 per-unit, the investment totals at over €200,000. This expense is not just for some solar powered Wi-Fi bins, as they are for much more than just convenient internet access. The bin is equipped with compacter technology to compress the waste that is thrown into it, increasing the storage capacity of the bin by 700%. Having access to the internet also allows the bin to send a report of its capacity and communicate when it needs to be emptied.

The increased capacity and communications technology of these bins has meant that the cities they have been operational in for some time have reduced the number of collections by 85%. So not only is this a much more efficient way of collecting waste, but it also helps to reduce the emissions from unnecessary journeys by haulers going to empty bins that do not need to be emptied. This contributes to a reduction in traffic on the streets and therefore alleviates congestion on the roads, also bringing down emissions.

At Pakire Polymers we are always happy to see investment being made in waste management solutions – especially when it is in Romania. As a plastics recycler in Romania, we believe these Smart Bins are an important aspect of shifting Romania in the direction of a more sustainable future. We are here to lead the way in this directional shift towards a green Romania, and it is great to see that the Romanian authorities are taking the waste problem here more seriously.