Green Environmental Solutions

Scanvaegt Systems focuses on the area of municipally collected household waste and is ready with a green, tailor-made solution for municipalities and waste management companies.

With RFID technology, sorting, quantities, and qualified data are under control, while the new solution increases emptying capacity, reduces wear on trucks, and enables more efficient route planning.

There is a lot to manage as all municipalities across the country implement the new waste collection schemes. These were adopted in 2020 and have been postponed several times, but are now being rolled out nationwide. Under the new schemes, all municipally collected household waste from private residences must be sorted into nine different categories, placing high demands on thorough sorting and collection.

The nine waste categories are food waste, paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic, beverage and food cartons, hazardous waste, and residual waste. Later this year, a tenth category—textiles—will be introduced.

Correct Emptying of Waste Fractions

“We offer an efficient waste management solution that matches this complex task and takes a significant step toward the green transition. With RFID technology (Radio Frequency Identification) installed on waste containers, we ensure that the different waste fractions are emptied correctly by the waste collectors, while collecting big data that municipalities can subsequently convert into useful insights,” says Business Manager Lennart Svenstrup from Scanvaegt Systems in Aarhus.

He explains that the waste truck is equipped with a scanner that reads the RFID code and ensures that each individual bin can only be emptied if it is correctly identified. This means the waste collector cannot empty residual waste into a truck designated, for example, for paper and cardboard collection.

Higher Recycling Rates

“Proper sorting results in cleaner fractions and thus higher recycling rates. Additionally, there are better financial returns from selling clean fractions,” emphasizes Lennart Svenstrup.

The RFID readings provide each municipality with insights into the quantities of sorted waste within the different categories.

“With qualified data, municipalities can extract valuable knowledge from the system and, for example, compare sorting rates between districts and launch informative campaigns aimed at encouraging citizens to sort better and more precisely,” says Lennart Svenstrup.

Significant Savings for Waste Management Companies

Scanvaegt Systems’ green waste management solution also offers substantial benefits for waste collection companies and their vehicles.

“Where truck lift weighing previously operated in mechanical steps, weighing now occurs in a smooth, continuous motion. This allows waste collectors to empty more containers per day than was previously possible,” explains Lennart Svenstrup.

This continuous motion saves two seconds per emptying. If a waste collector empties 600 bins per day, this translates to a daily saving of 20 minutes. Financially, this equates to an annual saving of DKK 25,000 per truck. The smooth operation also reduces wear on the truck’s mechanics.

“Waste collection is conducted via GPS, ensuring the market’s best and most efficient route planning,” says Lennart Svenstrup.

Where waste management was previously part of a larger business unit, the green waste management solution has now become an independent business area, where Scanvaegt Systems aims to strengthen its efforts with effective solutions—and with a nationwide service concept targeted at waste collectors.

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