Renewable Energy-Based Smart Waste Management System for a Circular Economy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70882/josrar.2026.v3i5.311Keywords:
Waste Management (WM), Solar Energy, Internet of Things (IoT), Circular Economy, Sustainability, Renewable EnergyAbstract
The urbanization of cities and the growing population have led to an increase in municipal solid waste generation, which has become an environmental and public health issue in urban areas. Traditional waste collection systems are characterized by overflowing garbage bins, unnecessary pickup operations, high cost of operation, and associated environmental impact. This paper presents the design and development of the Solar-Powered Smart Waste Management System (SWMS), which uses renewable energy and IoT technology to monitor and manage waste. SWMS consists of a smart waste bin that is managed by the ARDUINO UNO microcontroller and ultrasonic, temperature, humidity, and load cell sensors that monitor waste level, environment, and weight of the waste. Communication is established by the GSM and GPS modules, and a solar panel along with a rechargeable battery serves as a power source for SWMS. The ultrasonic sensor was able to detect the changes in the level of waste, the load cell sensor detected the changes in the weight of the waste, and the temperature and humidity sensors gave environmental readings. The GSM module was able to send notifications, whereas the solar panel was able to charge the battery, and the charged battery supplied power to the prototype. Simulation was also performed on the system using Proteus software to validate the operation of the electronic control and monitoring process. It should be noted that Proteus was not able to simulate the operation of the solar panel, battery management system (BMS), buck converter, and the entire battery subsystem. Thus, the results of the study prove the operation of the prototype, but not the full quantification of the accuracy of sensors or renewable energy.
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