Improving waste management through citizen participation
Thanks for this topic! I worked in Smart Cities and Citizen Action for 3 years – This brought back some fun memories 😊
Thanks for this topic! I worked in Smart Cities and Citizen Action for 3 years – This brought back some fun memories 😊
Project carriers: World Bank and Maputo city (local government and citizens), Mozambique
Beneficiaries: Maputo citizens, local government officials, public safety and the environment
Users: Maputo citizens, Maputo local government officials and waste management department
Need: Maputo has a population of over 1.1 million people, with 54 per cent living below the poverty line and 70 per cent living in informal settlements. The majority of the city’s roads are unpaved and flood control is limited, particularly in informal settlements in peri-urban areas. During the rainy season, streets flood and gutters quickly fill with debris and garbage, blocking the drainage of rainwater.
Solid waste management is one of the most important services that the Maputo Municipal Council must provide. However the lack of funding, capacity, and transparency within the municipality has resulted in substandard waste removal.
The municipality has contracted private companies to collect the waste from the urban communities. Micro-entrepreneurs are hired to travel by foot through high-density, low-income areas using trolleys to pick up trash from households and communal bins in the peri-urban neighborhoods.
Both the waste removal companies and individual waste collectors have difficulties locating waste for removal, coordinating their routes and organising collection points.
Principle: MOPA is a communications platform that allows participatory monitoring of waste collection in Maputo. Once a waste management problem is reported, one of two large waste collection companies and 56 micro-enterprises act to resolve it. Their actions are logged on the platform by Maputo’s municipality staff.
Main Technology Used: Free-to-user mobile app, USSD technology
Sources: Worldbank, Club of Mozambique
Project carriers: I Got Garbage and partners such as other NGO, citizen bodies, schools and institutions, and city corporations across India
Beneficiaries: Communities across India benefits from better quality of living which comes from fewer landfills in the country
Users:waste generators (consumers of goods and good products), waste pickers, local government.
Need: Professional waste-pickers constantly face harassment and discrimination in Indian society. These individuals are critical to the trash collection process, hygiene protection and proper functioning of society. Yet, they are exposed to chemical poisoning and biological infections due to the inhuman and hazardous conditions they work in. ‘I Got Garbage’ was launched with the objective of taking waste-pickers away from landfills, and help them earn a steady and dignified livelihood.
Principle: IGG was launched with the aim of solving urban India’s garbage crisis. The goal is to integrate the waste generators and waste pickers on a single tech platform, thereby enabling them to work in tandem. In the process, dignity is restored to the livelihood of the waste-pickers. Moreover, citizens receive professional and eco-friendly waste management services.
Main Technology Used: An integrated app servicing multiple stakeholders. The app regroups services that include waste collection scheduling, volunteering, debris tracking, warehouse management and waste audit. The app relies on technology such as IoT, GIS, communication channels and artificial intelligence.
Sources: Igotgarbage.com
Project carriers: Public Metropolitan Sanitation Company of Quito, EMASEO EP
Beneficiaries: The community of Quito, Ecuador
Users: The community of Quito, local government
Need: A decade ago, Quito suffered from a severe waste problem. Dumpsters overflowed, collection services were insufficient, and citizens had limited awareness of the public waste systems and procedures.
Principle: EMASEO uses ICT to monitor services in real-time, optimize internal process management, and improve external cleaning services. Using GIS and handheld devices, they also monitor household behavior and provide door-to-door information on ways to participate in public waste collection, schedules, and local disposal sites.
Main Technology Used: GIS, handheld devices, IoT
Sources: emaseo.gob.ec
Project carriers: Tero Innovation
Beneficiaries: The environment
Users: Households, citizens
Need: Powerless in the face of the lack of composting solutions, Elizabeth and Valérie chose to work on the management of residual organic matter in homes. Surprised to see how complex the management of compostable materials was, they found that citizens are interested in composting, but they are hindered by several obstacles, fears, and irritants.
Principle: Tero transforms your food waste into a natural fertilizer that nourishes plants, lawn, and vegetable gardens. Its drying and grinding technology reduces the volume of this waste by 90% in a few hours.
Main Technology Used: Hardware (composting device)
Sources: teroinnovation.ca
Project carriers: City of Maputo (Project lead), UNESCO, World Bank, Making All Voices Count (Funding), network of privatenwaste collection and sanitation companies (Implementation)
Why I chose this project I picked this project because of its large impact on Mozambique society across several pillars, from citizen engagement and infrastructure, to health and smart cities tech. The integrated app allows for far reaching results, which have been demonstrated over the years MOPA has been in place. In addition, this digital solution has the potential of being adapted to service other municipal areas such as water management and sanitation.
Research question: How can we motivate city residents to be engaged in waste management activities thanks to technology in order to keep their community safe and clean?
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1) Report waste management issues
The user signals the presence of a trash incident by inputting their position (address or general zone). The app does not use geolocation technology: users enter their location information manually. Once a report has been submitted, one of the 56 private waste collection companies contracted by the city government is dispatched on site to address the issue. The user is then notified that the situation has been resolved.
Which services' API(s) is (are) used? What other projects use these API?
We will be using Google Map's API to improve geolocation on the app. Uber utilizes the same API to identify the position of customers and drivers.
Document the general purpose of these APIs and the main opportunities they offer: what kind of data can be accessed?
According to Google Map's user documentation, the API allows to filter and query data from customer usage.
Which events trigger an API call? How are they set up?
The API will be triggered by a 'click event' when a user presses the 'Submit Report' button. The map will then be displayed to the user and he or she will be asked to either share their location automatically, or pinpoint the exact location of the waste collection incident on the map.
Document the general purpose of these APIs and the main opportunities they offer: what kind of data can be accessed?
According to Google Map's user documentation, the API allows to filter and query data from customer usage.
What kind of information is retrieved in your project?
The information retrieved by this project is mainly related to geolocation and data related to the area such as frequency of reporting for one specific place, foot traffic, topography, etc. The collection of this data will allow city officials to streamline waste collection by having a better grasp on problem areas within the city (areas for which numerous reports are filed) as well as being able to identify trends and make prediction to improve municipal service delivery.
How is it used in your project? Is it directly displayed to the user?
The map is displayed directly to users within the app, allowing them to select the location where they have noticed a waste incident.
Precise location data gathered through the Google Maps API will enable the streamlining of the trash collection process by allowing to pinpoint the exact location of trash incidents. This technology allows the municipal government and private contractors to save time and improve response efficacy.