Internet of Things, the beginning of

a journey for a smart city

The collection of solid urban waste in a
Portuguese City

ABSTRACT
The Internet of Things is attracting the attention of many municipal authorities regarding the
potential that technological innovation can provide in solving problems in cities. This
technology provides an opportunity to improve performance and enhance public image. In this
sense, the attractiveness is evident. In the scope of the public services developed by the city
council, the objectives are always to serve the populations and to provide them with the best
possible service. However since resources are limited, it is important, before the
implementation of information and communication technologies, to analyze investment viability,
as well as how to justify them to citizens. The objective of achieving higher levels of efficiency
and effectiveness than traditional ones justifies a rigorous financial analysis with the aim of
avoiding a worsening of the traditional difficulties. The present study had as objective to
evaluate the feasibility of the application of IoT in the collection of solid municipal waste in a
large Portuguese city, as part of a strategic project of development of the city in the context of
the smarter cities.

Keywords: Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Information Systems, Information Systems

Governance, Information and Communication Technologies investment, Solid urban waste

INTRODUCTION
We live in a time when everything around us is supposed to be or become smart and even
smarter. Smart has probably become one of the most intensely used and fashionable words. It is
attached as a describing attribute for people, cities, communities, regions, economies, states,
environment, mobility and even living (Zait, 2017). In digital era, cities are known as smart
cities because involve sustainable open and user-driven innovation ecosystems in improving
firms`innovativeness and enhancing quality of life (Schaffers et al., 2011) (Scuotto et al., 2016).
The smartness concept is strictly linked to urban efficiency in a multifaceted way (Mundula &
Auci, 2013).
Public entities with responsibility for cities management regardInternet of Things (IoT) as a
unique opportunity to solve a number of chronic and systematic problems and to make your city
moresmarter.The possibility of collecting information and producing knowledge through the
new IoT technologies allow foresee the possibility of developing actions more directed to the
needs of the citizens.IoTopens the perspective of a new era of management practices, from
planning to control, from architecture to Urbanism, from information to knowledge, from
infrastructure to the technologies themselves, resulting from the inclusion of these new
technologies in the traditional operational processes corresponding to the various areas of
intervention and urban management.
In fact, the search for solutions to the functional and current problems of cities throughthe IoT
technology can constitute a "new chapter" of a strategic process of construction and
management of a smart city.The smart city is primarily a concept, and there is still not a clear

1
and consistent definition among practitioners and academia. As a simplistic explanation, a smart
city is a place where traditional networks and services are made more flexible, efficient, and
sustainable with the use of information, digital, and telecommunication technologies to improve
the city`s operations for the benefit of its inhabitants (Mohanty, 2016).
The main challenge is not only in the adoption and introduction of technologies, but in the
pressure of their respective suppliers of technologies and associated services to provide this
illusion. Part of the challenge is the creation and operational capacity of a new technological
infrastructure, with dimensions and requirements superior to traditional ones. But the most
significant part of the challenge lies in the construction of a 'smart' management model capable
of alerting and providing a rapid and coherent reading of the reality of a set of urban dimensions
and providing a rapid intervention of those responsible, to minimizing problems or
inconvenience to citizens. On the other hand, cities will be "smart" if the respective
management and managers turn into actions and knowledge the information collected and made
available by technology. In this case, the expansion of big data and the evolution of IoT
technologies have played an important role in the feasibility of smart city initiatives. Big data
offer the potential for cities to obtain valuable insights from a large amount of data collected
through various sources, and the IoT allows the integration of sensors, radio-frequency
identification, and Bluetooth in the real-world environment using highly networked services.
These new challenges focus primarily on problems related to business and technology that
enable cities to actualize the vision, principles, and requirements of the applications of smart
cities by realizing the main smart environment characteristics (Hashem et al., 2016).
In this sense, in a public management perspective, the challenge of developing a "smart" city is
essentially a management challenge of information system (IS), because it expresses the ability
to become operational new dynamics appropriate to the potential of technologies. It will be
needed new procedural and functional dynamics and new physical resource requirements. The
capacity of intervention of public entities must be in accordance of technology outputs and no
longer according to management and operational processes crystallized over decades. With this
new technological framework, the operating system must adequately respond to contingency
situations.
At the level of IS, because the information system will tend to support a multiplicity of devices
that communicate permanently and that provide high volumes of data, it will have to be
properly architected and urbanized in order to guarantee greater capacities of treatment and
storage. The IS will tend to gain a new expression in the support to the organizational
operability and to the own management of the institutions, since the permanent availability of
information will tend to require a greater intervention capacity and a permanent availability of
resources.
The scientific study of the IoT and the smart cities constitutes, in the field of management and
information systems, a relevant opportunity. The IoT technology adoption processes are aimed
to improve the intelligibility of the city and must correspond to strategic developments that
integrate the technological potential in the management activities and sustainability of cities.
Thus, the application of punctual or pre-conceived technological solutions or measures, due to
technological attractiveness, is not meaningful, but the beginning of a consciousness and a
consolidated strategic process that provides value to the city and its citizens.
Although the concept is still recent, some central areas of potential impact are generally
assumed: economy, mobility, environment, governance, people and smart living (IEEE, 2018)
(Smart cities, 2017) or, in another perspective, urban analysis and modeling, incentives and
governance, mobility, living and working places, electronic and social networks and energy
networks. Nam & Pardo (2011) identified three conceptual dimensions of a smart city—
technology (the key to transforming life and work in a city), people (human capital and
education), and community (or support of government and policy). A city is smart when
investments in human/social capital and IT infrastructure fuel sustainable growth and enhance a
quality of life, through participatory governance (Gascó-Hernandez, 2018).
Even without a consolidated conceptual framework for smart cities, the emergence of IoThas
led governments to make efforts to provide cities with technological value, namely in the scope
of providing wireless internet access, video surveillance, digital information panels or smart bus
stops as a way to make urban centers more attractive to populations and visitors.
However, the emerging challenge is the search for consolidated solutions through IoT to meet
the demands of the population in order to solve old problems, such as the collection of solid
urban waste (SUW) or traffic. Small problems, such as a faulty light at a traffic light or a
waterline, can become major problems, requiring quick responses to minimize impacts that can
quickly turn into major problems.
This paper aims to study the feasibility of adopting IoT technology to one of the minor
problems that has become a bigger problem in one of the largest cities in Portugal: the
collection of the SUW.Currently, the differentiation of SUW, the collection process, the
associated costs, the public health impacts inherent in not collecting timely, the shared
collection between municipalities and contracted companies, among other examples, make this
area a strong field of study with academic and institutional interest.
The importance of IoT in the concrete case of the SUW is not only a reduction of the
operational costs of collection but, as a strategic investment, the reduction of the problems and
costs associated with public health and health, but also reduction of the emission of gaseous
pollutants, noise, etc.

MAIN CHALLENGES OF SMART CITIES

The smart city idea refers to new ways of organizing city functions and urban life, which are
believed to move production and consumption from global to local, manufacturing from
competitive to collaborative, and business from a shareholder to a multiple-stakeholderpoint of
view (Oberg, Graham & Hennelly, 2017). A smart city can be understood as a community in
which citizens, business firms, knowledge institutions, and municipal agencies collaborate with
one another to achieve systems integration and efficiency, citizen engagement, and a continually
improving quality of life (Snow, Håkonsson & Obel, 2016). The main difference with respect to
intelligent cities is that, besides ICT features, smart cities also encompass environmental issues,
human and social capital (Allwinkle & Cruickshank, 2011)(Caragliu et al., 2009). According to
Tachizawa et al. (2015) and Giffinger et al. (2007), a smart city incorporates at least one of the
following dimensions:
 smart economy (e.g. innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity);
 smart mobility (e.g. accessibility, sustainable transport systems);
 smart environment (e.g. pollution, sustainable resource management);
 smart people (e.g. level of qualification, creativity, flexibility);
 smart living (e.g. quality of life); and
 smart governance (e.g. public and social services, transparent governance).
Gascó-Hernandez (2018) propose a smart-city integrative framework:
 Management and organization - a project is influenced by such managerial and
organizational factors as project size, managers’ attitudes and behaviors, and
organizational diversity;
 Technology - a smart city relies on computing technologies applied to critical
infrastructure components and services, but technology can either improve citizens’
quality of life or contribute to the digital divide;
 Governance - processes, norms, and practices that guide the exchange of information
among the various stakeholders and their leadership, collaboration, communication,
data exchange, partnership, and service integration;
 Policy context - political and institutional components of the environment;
  People and communities - individuals and communities affecting and affected by
implementation of a smart-city initiative can involve participation and partnership,
accessibility, quality of life, and education;
 Economy - economic inputs and economic outcomes from smart-city initiatives include
innovation, productivity, and flexibility;
 Built infrastructure - availability and quality of technology infrastructure involve
wireless infrastructure and service-oriented information systems;
 Natural environment - sustainability and good management of natural resources.
The concept of smart city cannot be dissociated from the concept of IoT. They are two
dimensions of the same reality. IoT can be defined as:
 a system that interconnects computing devices (Coelho, 2017);
 an interrelated system of computational, mechanical or digital devices composed of
objects, animals or persons with a unique identifier capable of communicating with a
data network without the necessity of human / human or human / machine interactions
(Rouse, 2017);
 as a network of Internet-connected objects capable of collecting and exchanging data
using sensors (Meola, 2016).
Many other definitions could describe IoT, but all consider that they are technological devices
connected in network for sending and / or exchange of data.Its importance and impact on the
economy and society can be evidenced by the estimated evolution of IoT devices. According to
Statista (2018), by the end of 2017 it was estimated that more than 20 billion devices were
connected to the Internet, expecting to double in 5 years and by 2025 to exceed 75 billion
devices worldwide. Assuming that by the end of 2017 the world population would be around 7.5
billion people, there is a ratio of more than 2700 IoT devices per individual.
This perspective brings out two major challenges associated with IoT under the IS. The first
refers to the Information Systems Governance:
 the excessively diminished time-to-actionor time-to-react relative to the problems and
needs of economic and social actors;
 the increasing complexity linked organizational participation and interactions in
relational context;
 the requirement of a multidisciplinary approach to handle with economic and social
problems;
 the instability at dynamic demands related to the economic and technological
complexity;
 the new levels of architectural approaches related to collaboration and economic
cooperation intrinsic to the interactions between different players;
 the organizational operation efficiency adequacy to assurance the levels of
efficiencymanagement resources.
This, among other situations, bring out the relevance of the concept of information governance
and information systems Governance (Denollf et al., 2015) (Hulme, 2012) (Kooperet al.,
2011).Towards this new economic scenario, governance dimension arises as the key element to
assure some stability at an information systems level and responding to economic and social
needs through the definition of Political and Strategic decision making on IS and its
compatibility with Corporate Governance(Legrenzi & Salzman, 2012) (ISGec 2011) (ISGec
2010) (ISGec 2009).
Information Systems Governance doesn`t seem only a problem of technology. Is governance
should aim the election and clarification of the objectives to be achieved with investments in
IS(Oliveira, 2010) (Oliveira, 2009) (Oliveira, 2004). Some of the dimensions associated with
Governance, with increasing relevance in the field of IS, are(ISGec, 2010) (ISGec 2009):
 the organization model of IS;
  the definition and characterization of the IS Management Model at the various levels
(operational, tactical and strategic);
 the definition and characterization of the solutions of IS Urbanism and Architecture
(objectives, morphology, functionalities, levels of integration of the applications,
relations between users and stakeholders) (Anunciação, 1997) (Anunciação, 2004)
(Anunciação & Zorrinho, 2006);
 the design, development and control of the implementation process andthe
performances of the IS; and
 the definition of organizational forms and exploration models to be adopted in
Architecture and IS Engineering.
Information is now a fundamental resource for economic development activity and its
configuration justifies the need to ensure the proper form of the system or systems required for
its production, storage and distribution (Oliveira, 1999) (Oliveira, 1996).
For all that has just been exposed, it becomes evident the need and relevance of specific
activities related to making policy and strategic decisions about the IS. Governance also
presupposes responsibility for the management of IS, insofar as it is important to be able to
materialize the policies and strategies defined. The phenomenological complexity that
traditionally characterizes the IS, resulting, among other things, from the variety and value of
the resources involved (human, physical, logical, communications, consumables,...) and from
the fact that any employee of the company is a consumer and producer of information,
integrating and participating in a diversity of flows, emphasizes the central role that IS can have
as dynamic or conditioning elements of competitiveness and organizational sustainability
(Anunciação, 2014) (Anunciação, Esteves & Santos, 2014) (Anunciação, Svirina & Santos,
2013) (Anunciação & Esteves, 2012).
The second challenge refers to the need for an urbanistic perspective on IS.Today, organizations
integrate links of chains that grow, multiply and become increasingly complex, and in which
technological innovations have played an important role in the viability of an economic,
commercial and informational approach between the different members. The companies are
involved in collaborative networks that influence, constrain and reshape your assets and flows.
The dynamics of flows and different structural position of each company originates and
asymmetric influences competitive behavior in networks. That requires organizational and
structural flexibility to facilitate rapid adaptation to market.
In this context, Urbanism of organizational and information systems emerges as a valuable aid
to the interpretation of reality and visualization problems. This is a model of relational
alignment that enables a framework of various organizational characteristics, which aims to
facilitate the analysis and the equation at the level of the value chain, of different organizational
solutions (in the functional, informational and technological fields) (Anunciação, 1997)
(Anunciação & Zorrinho, 2006).
The following aspects are some of the key points to emphasize the importance of Urbanism
when developing organizational and interorganizational information systems:
 the existence of different information systems belonging to different organizations;
 interoperability between information systems from different organizations;
 competitive, strategic and operational advantages achievement, in a collaborative
manner, among other participations;
 governance and management of the different participating systems;
 ability to extend existing systems, through shared services and networks;
 warranty of adequate levels of reliability, security, privacy, and integrity, higher than
the existent in conventional internal information systems;
 shared control exercise performed by the participating organizations.
The urbanistic perspective over information systems should become a common framework in
organizational contexts, allowing:
  Meaning – Easiness and adequacy in which the several participants, activities, systems,
enable the connectivity to others by a coherent mental representation in space and time,
and in a manner that representation can be linked to non-spatial concepts and values;
 Sense – mental understanding, differentiated and structured in the time and space, of the
system by the different participants, and the ability to interconnect with the defined
values and objectives;
 Effectiveness – Degree of conformity between the solution’s shape and the ability of
their execution linked to the problem pattern and to their evolution perspectives;
 Support – The prescribed solutions should satisfy the overall existing realities and
problems (organizational, technological, chronological) through commitments assumed
by the different stakeholders;
 Security – Degree of knowledge, control, and confidence in the designated system
regarding the degree of utilization, access control, regular exploration, and management
 Ethics – properly and fairly distribution of benefits and costs by the intervening
economic agents, according some specific principles (adequacy, justice, intrinsic value).

OPPORTUNITY, OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

The opportunity for the study corresponding to the process of investment and opportunity
analysis for the adoption of IoT technology in one of the largest Portuguese cities. Among the
several areas identified in IoT application, we will focus on the urban solid waste collection
system.
The study has two phases. The first one, object of this work, corresponds to the investment
analysis and feasibility in the adoption of IoT technology. The justification for this first phase
results from the limitation of public financial resources allocated to this activity. Local
authorities have to approve the investments in the municipal assembly and, in this sense, besides
the obvious benefits in terms of public health and well-being of the population, it is important to
ensure the correct application of financial resources.
The second phase, to be developed in future work, includes the study of an architectural /
Urbanism solution for the IS that includes the proper functioning of the new infrastructure
created for the purpose described.
More specifically, with regard to the first stage, it should be stressed that it has two main
objectives. The first, of an operational nature, is associated with the need to increase the
efficiency of SUW collection by reducing the associated financial costs and the efficiency of the
service provided to the population, adapting it to the demands of society. Within a tightly
constrained budgetary framework, any reduction of costs inherent in technological innovation
makes it possible to reallocate the available resources to other priorities. As regards the second,
of a strategic nature, it relates to the sustainability of the services provided by the municipality
to the population, for the reduction of gas emissions and to the safeguarding of public health.
In this sense, this study seeks to analyze the opportunity and advantages of adopting the IoT
technology to collect solid urban waste, starting from an analysis of the feasibility of
investment, as a means of evidence to the municipal entities that there may be real gains in the
adoption of a solution in this context. In addition, a prototype development capable of reading
the available volumes of the containers will also be presented as a means of demonstrating the
technical feasibility.
Some of the factors, among other factors, that consolidate this opportunity correspond to the
fact that:
 it is one of the largest Portuguese cities, with a complex SUW system;
 the collection of SUW will be carried out by the autarchy and by private entities
(outsourcing), with different management models and practices;
  there are high costs associated with the collection of SUW, and there is a need to
ensure the economic and financial sustainability of the services;
 the payment of the service is currently proportional to the water consumption and not
to the SUW produced, justifying the introduction of more fair and coherent evaluation
measures.
The methodology followed to survey the situation was based on the technique of the focus
group, through which the existing situation was surveyed and the validation of the proposed
solution.
The adoption of the focus group methodology resulted from the search for objectivity to
contextualize and specify the topic under study. It was considered that the meeting of a group of
experts in the various levels of this service would be the best way to achieve the objective and
pragmatic results with value for the management. Furthermore, it is also sought with this
methodological option to obtain information on the understanding, knowledge and feeling about
the relevance of the IoT potential, as well as the main central variables that must be considered
in this context. Some of the benefits, sought with this methodology and that justified their
adoption, are:
 the possibility of interaction and sharing of participants' views, knowledge and
experiences (Berg, 2001) (Morgan, 1996) (Queirós & Lacerda, 2013);
 the provision of psychological, social and cultural characteristics (Berg, 2001);
 the generation of a consensus on ideas, issues, themes and solutions due to the
synergistic effect (Berg, 2001); and
 the generation of comparative data between experiences and points of view rather than
individual data (Morgan, 1996).
However, the choice of the various participants can be criticized, because the value of the
research contributions depends on the choice. The choice of elements for the focus group was
based on experience, level of responsibility and vision of the situation, searching a diversified
contribution.The specialists who were part of the focus group were the following: Director of
the Environment and Economic Activities department, Head of Urban Hygiene Division and a
SUW collection team (driver and support staff).
Several interactions were made for the correct survey of the current situation and for
identification of the benefits and impacts that the adoption of a solution in this scope could
provide. It was also sought to integrate a municipal top manager, with the aim of having a
strategic perspective to contextualize and analyse the problem, but this was not possible. Thus,
the focus of the situation survey had a management and operational nature, and it was sought to
highlight the strategic potential and impact on the municipality.The choice of these elements
results from the responsibilities they have in relation to the management decisions in the
specific areas of intervention, the direct responsibility in the administration of resources and in
the resolution of the problems felt by the population, and the real and operational knowledge of
the problem.

MAIN RESULTS OF THE STUDY

The main results of the focus group allowed us to characterize and understand theSUW process
in this municipality. Among the several interactions established some facts emphasize the
importance of the study of the adoption of IoT technology in the collection of SUW, namely:
 be one of the largest Portuguese cities, with a complex SUW system;
 the collection of the SUW is carried out by the autarchy and by private entities
(outsourcing), with different management models and practices;
 the collection takes place daily, regardless of the available capacity of the containers;
 the waste trucks carry out the same route by stopping in all containers for validation and
collection decision;
  the need for a waste collection container is made by the team through local direct
observation;
 there are high costs associated with the collection of SUW;
 the need to ensure the economic and financial sustainability of the waste collection
services;
 the payment of the service is currently proportional to the consumption of water and not
to the SUW produced, justifying the introduction of more fair and coherent evaluation
measures.
Within the scope of the focus group it was possible to verify that, according to the experience of
the professionals who are part of the collection team, their capacity is on average below 50% on
several days per week. Having raised the question of the timeliness of daily collection, there
was a unanimous opinion that there is currently no way of knowing the filling rate of containers
without the collection team stopping the waste truck and manually checking each one. This
practice leads to an inefficient in the collection activity and, consequently, a loss of efficiency in
the resource utilization, namely fuel and human resources.
It was also possible to verify that, according to the Municipal Management Report (Social
Report, 2016), in 2016, 3,853,593.36€ was spent under the category of Solid Waste. A large
chunk of the costs of this activity comes directly from the operation of the collection system,
namely fuel costs and human resources.
The SUW container network includes surface and buried containers and comprises a total of
3,692 containers, corresponding to 3 518 m3 retention capacity. However, due to the container
morphology, in this study, we consider only, the installation of communication equipment in
surface waste containers whose retention capacity amounts to 2 830 m3 distributed in 3 538
containers. This limitation is due to the fact that underground containers do not guarantee the
reliability of the data regarding the reading of the capacity used due to technical difficulties of
communication with the router or access point of Internet access, because they are buried.
Regarding costs, the calculation was based on global values. Based on data on the activity of
collecting SUW during the year 2016, it was found that the waste trucks consumed exactly 275
379.33 €, corresponding to 252 410.02 liters of fuel.
It was also found from the interactions with the focus group that the waste trucks affectation to
the collection process is variable, without homogeneous standards. The different levels of
affectation arise mainly from the availability of the waste trucks, since they are not all available
during the year (workers faults, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, absence of operators,
etc.).In fact, there is a very significant variation of use, with minimums of 4 and maximum of 15
waste trucks in use on consecutive days, as can be seen in figure 1.
 Variability of waste trucks use
100 92
90
78
80 72
70
60

Days
50
40 34 34
28
30
20 10
5 6 3
10 1 2
0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Number of trucks used

Figure1– Variability of waste trucks uses

The municipality used, in 2016, 23 waste trucks with different characteristics and capacity
(cargo capacity, cargo displacement, etc.). The waste trucks in service have registration dates
between 1986 and 2016. Curiously, it was mentioned by the focus group that among the three
most efficient are two waste trucks that, in the year under analysis, would have 18 years of use.
It was also found that there were waste trucks that made only 1086.96 Km, while others did 50
013.00 Km, reinforcing the idea of the variable use(Municipality of Setúbal, 2017).
It has also been mentioned that the number of average daily stops is in the order of 1902 stops,
corresponding to the number of vehicles in use, an annual total of around 667602 stops which in
the current year resulted in a total of 431 335,50 kilometers.
At the level of general costs, and not being able to determine or impute the costs of maintenance
of the vehicles, the study is conditioned to the costs with the Human Resources (HR) and fuel,
with a distribution of the same in a proportion of 77% and 23% as we can see in the figure 2.

HR/Fuel costs ratio

23%

77%

Fuel HR

Figure2–HR/Fuel costs ratio

The device evaluates between two points: the top of the holding waste container (lid) where the
device is located and the bottom.The current model has a communication element (Lora Esp32),
a distance reader, a battery and a waterproof case.The wifi communication element both acts
under the 802.11 b / g / n protocols and LoraWan technology. The associated costs are
identified in Table 1.
 Equipament
Technical identification Technical description Quantity Price Subtotal
SR-04T Medidor Distância Ultrassónico 1 15,00€ 15,00€
Lora Esp32 Wifi Board MiniProcessador 1 23,90€ 23,90€
Battery 18650 6000mAh Rechargable battery 2 5,00€ 10,00€
Watertight box Legrand 80x80mm 1 3,75€ 3,75€
Total 52,65€
Total for 3538 units 186 275,70€
Table1–Components cost

The cost of producing a unit of the reading device with the four basic components amounts to a
total of 52.65€, and to produce the 3 538 units required we have an associated cost of
186275.70€.
The communication module used in this prototype is a System On a Chip (SoC) and consisting
of a microchip containing all the electronic components necessary for its operation on a single
chip and on the same integrated circuit.It is estimated that only two readings per day are
required. Once that the waste collection is carried out during the night, a reading of 12.00 a.m.
shows the general condition of the waste containers about 9 hours before the start of the
collection activity, and activates, if necessary, some urgent collection even before the normal
collection period. By making a final reading around 8:00 p.m., you can get an overview before
the start of the collection activity.
The power supply for both the Lora Esp32 module and the SR04T sensor is supplied from
rechargeable 3,7v type 18650 batteries, with a duration of more than 70 hours in continuous
operation. However, for sending data over the internet only twice a day, it means that the Lora
Esp32 module would only be used about 30 to 60 seconds per day, and the module could be
"hibernated" the rest of the time. This hibernation mode turns off all the main functions of the
module, except the internal clock, which allows the hibernation mode to be
deactivated.Measurements made on the Lora Esp32 show an expenditure of 87 milliamperes in
normal operation and about 8.3 milliamperes in hibernation mode, that is, about 10% of the full
operation. In this way, the battery included in the project would last between 1 and 2 years,
replacing the batteries in question with other ones charged, without the necessity to acquire new
batteries.
At the communications level, it is necessary to provide the system with a long-range and low-
cost communication format, in particular without the dependence of communication operators.
The choice of the LoraWan ESP32 module in conjunction with a suitable gateway allows
communications up to 8 kilometers in optimum conditions, and in urban environments the
communication range should be up to 5 kilometers. Since the municipality has more than 60
buildings with internet connection, the mesh created should reach more than 95% of the
collection containers. The cost associated with the installation of these devices is in force in the
table 2.

LoraWan Gateway
Identification Quantity Price Subtotal
LG01-P LoRa Gateway 1 91,54€ 91,54€
Outdoor Antenna 1 49,55€ 49,55€
Total 141,09€
Total for 60 units 8 465,40€
Table 2–Cost of gateway Lora

The general architecture of the system to be developed is shown in figure 1 below.

 Figure3–Comunication architecture

In relation to vehicle expenses, in particular the spent fuel, in the year 2016, during the 351 days
of SUW collection activity, the 23 vehicles used, carried out 1 902 daily waste collections in 3
538 containers with a total of 667 602 annual stops, an average of 1 228.88 kilometers per day
and 431 335.50 kilometers annually and spending 252 410.02 liters of diesel fuel for this
purpose. Consideringthat the average retail price of this fuel in 2016was 1,091 €, the total
expenditure on fuel is 275379.33€.
Briefly, with regard to human resources, the SUW collection activity was attended by 115
employees with a cumulative allocation of 89.92 employees, of which only 69 of the 115 have a
100% allocation for the SUW collection service. These employees earned an average salary of
719.96€ which includes expenses for the social security / general retirement, insurance and meal
allowance, amounting to a cost per employee of 980.34€. Based on the only 69 employees with
100% affectation, these costs the organization in the year in question the amount of 947009,92
€.
In relation to the prototype, it was assumed the internal assembly capacity of the reading device,
developed by the IT division. In the acquisition of the components we will have an investment
of 52.65 € per unit, amounting to 186 275.70 € to produce the 3 538 units required for all
surface waste containers of the municipality.
The results of prototype tests show the capacity of volume reading and the possibility to provide
an assessment of occupational status before the start of the collection truck routes. This
information generates knowledge and decision capacity about the routes to being maintained,
the waste truck stops that will be necessary, to plan routes adapted to the volume of the
containers every day and to implement a flexible management of the waste trucks allocation.
The collection team in each waste truck can adapt the service, according the information
available in own computer system, watching the best route adapted to the volume of the
containers every day.
However, since there are no reliable technical data about the probability of stop waste trucks
reduction through this system, according to the evaluation identified in the focus group, it was
decided to make a study based on three reduction options: 10%, 20% and 30%. These three stop
reduction proposals are the values that the focus group considered feasible according to
different levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the collection process after installation of the
devices in the SUW retention containers.According to the focus group, the probability of 10% is
easily surpassed as it has been observed, taking into account the increase of the dispersion of
new containers in recent years as well as a reduction in tonnage collected. The value of 20%
will be the estimated value with the probability of being closer to reality. Some studies even
indicate that the reduction of SUW transport needs with the implementation of IoT-based
systems should be 25% (Gamero, 2018). However, the calculations are also presented for a
reference value of 30% reduction because it is considered that this value is feasible by
optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire collection system (vehicle management,
route planning, programming of waste collections, etc.) and certainly the value to which it will
converge with the increase in the number of containers over the years.
The direct effects of the reduction of the number of stops, in any case, will be reflected in the
reduction of fuel, maintenance and parts expenses (not contemplated in this study). But other
indirect benefits have also been identified, such as reducing HR, reducing pollutant emissions
and improving public health, among others.
Considering that, in the municipality, we have 3 538 containers distributed through 1 902 single
collection points, a reduction of 10%, 20% or 30% of collection points would mean a
progressive decrease in the number of daily stops of waste trucks as shown in Table 3.

Current Percentage of reduction

number 10% 20% 30%
Collection points 1 902 1712 1522 1331

Table3 - Reducing the points of waste collection

In terms of waste trucks, during the year 2016, were used 3 883 days / vehicles, with a
cumulative use of 12 vehicles that made 667 602 annual stops, requiring a total of 69 employees
whose annual cost amounts to 947 009,92 €.With the reduction of the number of stops, we also
forecast a reduction in the number of vehicles and consequently of RH required to operate these
vehicles as we can see in table 4.

Annual Days/Waste Waste Need of Human Cost reduction

stops trucks trucks in Human resources forecast
use resources expenditures
Base 667 602 3 883 12 69 947 009,92€ 0,00€
10% 600 842 3 495 11 62 852 308,93€ 94 700,99€
20% 534 082 3 106 10 55 757 607,93€ 189 401,98€
30% 467 321 2 718 8 48 662 906,94€ 284 102,98€

Table4 - Financial forecast reduction in Human Resources

As we can see from the table above, with the reduction of planned stops there will be less use of
the vehicles and consequently a lower need for HR translated into a financial reduction between
94,700.99€, for the less optimistic scenario of 10% reduction of stops, 189 401.98 €for the
intermediate scenario of 20% reduction of stops and the 284 102.98€ for the most optimistic
scenario of 30% reduction of stops.
In absolute terms, evaluating both fuels and HR, we find that the current fuel cost is 275,379.33
€and HR is 947,009.92 €for a total of 1,222,389.25€ with a proportion of 23% / 77%
respectively for fuel and HR expenditures, as can be seen in table 5.

Fuel Human Total Cost reduction

resources expenditures forecast
Current expenditure 275 379,33€ 947 009,92€ 1 222 389,25€ 0,00€
10% waste trucks stops 247 841,40€ 852 308,93€ 1 100 150,33€ 122 238,93€
20% waste trucks stops 220 303,47€ 757 607,93€ 977 911,40€ 244 477,85€
30% waste trucks stops 192 765,53€ 662 906,94€ 855 672,48€ 366 716,78€

Table5 - Total savings expected

In view of the less ambitious scenario of a 10% reduction in stops, it is possible to reduce
thetotal costs from 1 222 389.25€ to 1 150 150.33€, a decrease of 122 238.93€. In the situation
of the reduction of stops by 20%, the total cost reduction is 977 911,40 €, that isless 244 477,85
€ than the amount spent reality. In the case of the reduction of stops reaching 30%, we will see a
reduction of the total costs to 855 672,48 €, meaning a predictable saving of 366 716.78 €.
With the calculation of the associated costs of the SUW collection activity and the
implementation of the devices, as well as the possible financial gains with the potential
reduction of 10%, 20% or 30%, we can calculate the cash flows, and more importantly,
payback.
The table below shows the cash flows forecast taking into account the reduction of waste trucks
stops in order of 10%, 20% or 30%. As we can see, the investment is fixed regardless of the
number of waste truck stops, since the investment has no direct or indirect relationship. It
depends on the reduction of the expected return, which, as we can see, increases, being able to
reach more than 30000€ per month in the case of a reduction of 30%, according to table 6.

Investment Annual return Monthly return

10% waste trucks stops 194 741,10€ 122 238,93€ 10 186,58€
20% waste trucks stops 194 741,10€ 244 477,85€ 20 373,15€
30% waste trucks stops 194 741,10€ 366 716,78€ 30 559,73€

Table6–Expected cash flows

Table 7 shows the expected payback for the 10% reduction in stops.

Cash Flow for a reduction of 10% waste trucks stops

Year 1
1st Trimester 2nd Trimester 3rd Trimester 4th Trimestre
Investment 186 275,70 € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 €
Benefit 20 373,15 € 30 559,73 € 30 559,73 € 30 559,73 €
Cash Flow -165 902,55 € -135 342,81 € -104 783,08 € -74 223,35 €
Year 2
1st Trimester 2nd Trimester 3rd Trimester 4th Trimestre
Investment 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 €
Benefit 30 559,73 € 30 559,73 € 30 559,73 € 30 559,73 €
Cash Flow -43 663,62 € -13 103,89 € 17 455,84 € 48 015,57 €

Table7–Cash flows and payback for a reduction of 10% in waste trucks stops

The monthly financial decrease of 10 186.58€ in costs for the scenario of 10% reduction of the
stops allows to reach the point of payback in the 19th month after the investment, that is, during
the second year, reaching the end of that year of the project with a positive balance of
48015.57€.
 Cash Flow for a reduction of 20% waste trucks stops
Year 1
1st Trimester 2nd Trimester 3rd Trimester 4th Trimestre
Investment 186 275,70 € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 €
Benefit 40 746,31 € 61 119,46 € 61 119,46 € 61 119,46 €
Cash Flow -145 529,39 € -84 409,93 € -23 290,47 € 37 829,00 €
Year 2
1st Trimester 2nd Trimester 3rd Trimester 4th Trimestre
Investment 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 €
Benefit 61 119,46 € 61 119,46 € 61 119,46 € 61 119,46 €
Cash Flow 98 948,46 € 160 067,92 € 221 187,38 € 282 306,85 €

Table 8 – Cash flows and payback for a reduction of 20% in waste trucks stops

With a 20% reduction in the number of stops, the payback point is in the 10th month after the
investment, a reduction of 9 months compared to the previous scenario, allowing us to reach the
end of the 1st year with a positive balance of 37 829.00 € and at the end of the 2nd year with the
cumulative balance of 282 306.85€.

Cash Flow for a reduction of 30% waste trucks stops

Year 1
1st Trimester 2nd Trimester 3rd Trimester 4th Trimestre
Investment 186 275,70 € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 €
Benefit 61 119,46 € 91 679,19 € 91 679,19 € 91 679,19 €
Cash Flow -125 156,24 € -33 477,04 € 58 202,15 € 149 881,34 €
Year 2
1st Trimester 2nd Trimester 3rd Trimester 4th Trimestre
Investment 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00 €
Benefit 91 679,19 € 91 679,19 € 91 679,19 € 91 679,19 €
Cash Flow 241 560,54 € 333 239,73 € 424 918,93 € 516 598,12 €

Table 9 – Cash flows and payback for a reduction of 30% in waste trucks stops

In the most optimistic scenario of 30% reduction of the stops, the payback point is in the 7th
month, a reduction of 3 months compared to the previous scenario of 20% reduction of stops
and 12 months less than that predicted in the reduction of 10 % of stops. At the end of the first
year of the project the balance is positive with the value of 149 881.34 €, reaching the end of the
2nd year with the cumulative balance of 516 598.12 €.
For any of the scenarios presented, the payback point is always less than two years, considered
acceptable time for such a project. The fact that the payback point is between the 19th and the
7th month of the project shows that the return is attainable, even in the most conservative and
pessimistic scenario.
However, it should be considered that, on the one hand, an investment can be controversial, not
only because it is in the SUW area, but also because it has a weak impact on the political image,
on the other, considering that a municipal executive is in for approximately four years, a
scenario of financial reduction, either 10186.58€ or 30559.73€ per month, is always well
accepted within any autarchic organization.
CONCLUSION
The application of the IoT technology to the activities developed by the municipalities can
provide positive results. The present study sought, at a management perspective, to highlight the
financial viability of the investment as a way to sensitize municipality managersand general
population to the importance and sustainability of the activities developed by the State.
Although, traditionally, citizens are satisfied with the value of taxes paid for the functioning of
the State in general, it is necessary to motivate public managers to adopt management tools that
justify citizens the options takenstate.
As there is not much data or technical information on the greater part of the activities carried out
by municipal entities, such as the collection of municipal solid waste, the importance of the
involvement of the different actors, with different responsibilities in the activities under study,
was verified as a way of motivation for the analysis of new solutions as well as for the joint
discussion of problems and for the search for win-win solutions for all those involved.
It should be noted that this study is not exhausted here. It should correspond to a first phase of
analysis to justify the development of the project and the optimization of complementary
activities such as fleet optimization, route optimization, collection planning, satisfaction and
reduction of work fatigue, among other relevant aspects.

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