2018 IEEE Conference on Systems, Process and Control (ICSPC 2018), 14–15 December 2018, Melaka, Malaysia

Waste Monitoring System based on Internet-of-

Thing (IoT)
Harnani Hassan, Fadzliana Saad and Nor Fazlin Abdul Aziz
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM)
40450 Shah Alam, Selangor
harnani@salam.uitm.edu.my

Abstract—Currently, most of waste management system is
implemented using a conventional system. The organisation such
as Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd manages the domestic waste by assigning
the worker to collect the waste without identification system. This
paper presents a development of waste monitoring and collecting
system based on Internet-of-Thing (IoT). The hardware
implementation for the system consist of NodeMCU
(microcontroller board) connected to two ultrasonic sensors with
Wifi module (ISM Band 900) attached to the board. In the system,
these sensors are utilised to implement an automatic lid opener
and to update the waste level condition for monitoring system. The
developed system is designed to monitor the waste level (condition)
in the bin (‘full bin’ or ‘not full’) via internet through mobile
application (Apps). The developed Apps provides a real-time
update of the waste level status for collection. The real-time update
from the sensor is uploaded through the developed mobile Apps
via URL to the database. Waste collector or end user need to access
the update via mobile Apps for further action. In this project, the
ultrasonic sensor sensitivity is tested on ‘flat’ and ‘non-flat’ waste
type. The result showed that type of waste (‘flat’ or ‘non-flat’) with
specific angle of reflection has influenced the sensor sensitivity to
identify the waste level status. The developed system could be
potentially utilised to improvise the conventional system waste
collection to more effective system.
Keywords—waste monitoring, Internet-of-Thing, NodeMCU, Wifi
module, URL, mobile application.
I. INTRODUCTION
In Malaysia, waste management is authorised and
monitored by state of council or private organisation for waste
collection and landfill management. The conventional waste
collection system for each area is based on planned schedule
that implemented by the authorised organisation. The system
does not allow municipal to observe a real-time update of the
bin status to identify the waste level condition either it is ‘full’
or ‘not full’ or ‘empty’. A transportation fuel may be wasted if
the waste truck collects the waste if the bin is not completely
full. Besides, the waste worker or collector needs to collect
whether the waste level in the bin is full or not according to the
fix schedule. The practice of waste collection is becoming
irrelevant with the increasing number of the state’s population,
with the amount of waste produced in Malaysia is nearly 37,000
tones everyday [1]. The waste amount is expected to increase
as Malaysian population is rapidly increase [2]. The worst case
occurred when the waste load at the landfill overflowed may
lead to air pollution, environmental and health problems as well
as bottlenecks of waste load needs to be handled with a proper
system. In order to manage the amount of waste, the
conventional system needs a systematic and efficient waste
management system to overcome these problems. Mustafa et al.
[3] had designed and developed an environmentally friendly
waste monitoring system by measuring the waste level status in
real-time. The designed system abled to notify the municipality
the waste level status inside the bin when it is in ‘full’ condition.
On the other hand, Ravi Gorli [4] developed a new model of
smart garbage monitoring system to improve the developed
system in [3]. The new model is integrated with ultrasonic
sensor to detect garbage level inside the bin. The system also
equipped with GSM to send notification to end-user or worker
when the bin is ‘full’ for further action. N, Sowmya et al. [5]
designed a smart trash can monitoring system that contains of
smart detector device to detect trash can. The device consists of
an ultrasonic sensor, NodeMCU, GPS and Wi-Fi module.
In this project, the development of waste monitoring and
collecting system based on IoT is proposed to overcome the
conventional system. The objectives of this project; i) to
develop a waste monitoring system that consists of the
ultrasonic sensor, Wifi module and microcontroller
(NodeMCU) to identify the waste level condition inside the bin;
ii) to create a database for bin status update in a real-time; iii)
an accessible update through mobile application (Apps) for
further action of end user (worker). The ultrasonic sensor is
responsible to notify the waste level status inside the bin and
update the status as data input to Wifi module via mobile Apps
notification. The module the sent data as ‘full bin’ or ‘not full’
before sending out to the database as mobile Apps notification.
The database is used to store the worker’s information and bin
data. The collecting system utilised the mobile Apps to identify
specific bin for waste collection. The system information can
be excessed by the end-user or worker to collect the waste for
further action. Thus, less cost and save time to handle the waste
with the propose system. The project is highly potential to be
implemented in present waste management system as it capable
to update the waste level status in real-time. Besides, a minimal
device setting, the system information can be monitored via

978-1-5386-6327-1/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE 187

 2018 IEEE Conference on Systems, Process and Control (ICSPC 2018), 14–15 December 2018, Melaka, Malaysia
mobile Apps that provides quick update information for further
action.
II. METHODOLOGY
The proposed system is designed to allow the
municipal of waste management to monitor the waste level
status inside the bin. The system consists of: i) sensor circuitry
design, ii) update database and iii) mobile application (Apps).
The sensor circuit is demonstrated with microcontroller
interface and ultrasonic sensor to measure the waste level inside
the bin. The data received from Wifi module is stored in the
database. The data in the database is sent to the mobile
application (Apps) whenever the end-user or worker accessing
the application.
Fig. 1. Block diagram of waste monitoring system based on IoT
Figure 1 shows a block diagram for the proposed system. The
figure illustrates two separate ultrasonic sensors are utilised
with two separate units of Wifi module, if two bins need to be
managed. The ultrasonic sensor is connected to Wifi Module
that used to detect the waste level status inside the bin. The
received data from the Wifi module is sent to MySQL database
for update data. Then, it is sent to the mobile application (Apps)
where the end-user or waste worker can access the waste level
status in a real-time.
A. Design of the sensing circuit
Fig. 2. Circuitry connection for the sensor
Figure 2 above illustrates the circuitry connection between the
sensor units and Wifi module. The Wifi module (ESP866)
known as NodeMCU is attached to microcontroller to connect
the system via mobile Apps. The ultrasonic sensor unit is
connected to Wifi Module to detect the waste level status.
Since the Wifi Module is operated at 3V input, a voltage
regulator circuit is added to the circuitry connection to enable
ultrasonic sensor operation at 5V. The voltage regulator circuit
188
of LM7805 is used to step down the voltage from 9V to 5V. The
voltage regulator consists of two capacitors that are connected
to the input and output pin. A 9V battery is used as a voltage
supply (input) to the regulator circuit. Then, the 5V voltage
supply is connected to the ultrasonic Vcc (power source) pin
(output).
B. WIFI Module ESP8266 (NodeMCU)
ESP8266 is inexpensive device that is designed with self-
contained SOC and integrated TCP/IP protocol stack which
allows microcontroller to access the WiFi network [6]. The
module is capable to host an application or offloading all WiFi
networking functions from another application processor. The
module produced enough power and storage capability that
allows it to be integrated with sensor or other applications
through its general-purpose of input or output pin (GPIO). In
this project, ESP8266 is used to access the Wifi network in
order to send data to the database. The ultrasonic sensor is
connected to Wifi module GPIO pin act as a Nano
microcontroller.
C. Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04
Ultrasonic sensor (HC-SR04) measures the distance of an
object by using sound waves. The distance is measured by
sending out a sound wave at a specific frequency and emitted
to the sound wave [7]. The time between the sound wave being
transmitted and emitted is recorded to calculate the distance
between the ultrasonic sensors and object. The sound wave
travelled two times of distance towards the object before it is
detected by the sensor. The distance is considered as a distance
from ultrasonic sensor to object and from object to ultrasonic
sensor. This measurement is known as a round-trip. Therefore,
the distance can be measured by dividing the round-trip
distance into half using equation (1), with the speed value is
equivalent as the sound wave travelled through air
approximately at 344 m/s.
Distance = (Speed of sound x Time taken) / 2 (1)
Equation (1) is defined in the programming that allows the
controller to measure the distance. Figure 3 shows the project
flow chart of ultrasonic unit operation. The Wifi module
requires a wifi connection to operate and update the current data
in the database. When the wifi connection is established the
ultrasonic sensor measures the distance from the object to the
ultrasonic sensor. If measured distance measured is less than
7cm, the value ‘1’ will be send to the database and identify the
bin as ‘full’. Next, a notification ‘FULL’ will be appeared at the
home screen of the mobile Apps. On the other hands, if the
distance value is more than or equal to 7cm, ‘0’ value will be
sent to the database and the ‘NOT FULL’ notification will be
appeared on the home screen.
 2018 IEEE Conference on Systems, Process and Control (ICSPC 2018), 14–15 December 2018, Melaka, Malaysia
D. Development of the mobile application and database
In this project, the database is developed to monitor the waste
level status. The mobile application is utilised by waste
management worker to access a real-time status update of the
waste level. Figure 4 shows the system conceptual design that
consist of sensor, Wifi module, database and mobile Apps. The
sensor circuitry attached inside the is used to measure the level
of waste inside the bin. The obtained data from the sensor is
send through a Wifi Module to the database. An end-user or
worker can directly access the real-time updates via mobile
application (Apps).
E. Flowchart of the system
Fig. 3. Flow chart of the system
1) System Conceptual Design
Fig. 4. System conceptual design
189
2) Database
A database is created using MySQL purposely to store the
incoming data from the sensor. MySQL is an open-source
program based on Relational Database Management System
(RDBMS). In the database, a data update table is created to
manage the data storage. For this project, there are 6 columns
are created in the table to store system data such as username,
password, date, and name of bin, location of bin and favourite
bin. The table also includes an additional table for authorized
workers information that can be access through the mobile
Apps.
3) Mobile Application (Apps)
Mobile application (Apps) is designed using Laravel program.
The program is an open-source based on PHP web framework
for web development. Mobile application development using
Laravel is straightforward implementation with great feature.
The mobile application is designed with a login application
where only user with registered username and password can
access the database. Besides, it consists a home screen that
provides the worker information, worker identification, bin
location and waste level status inside the bin.
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. Prototype
Figure 5 shows the project prototype with ultrasonic sensor
attached to lid of the bin. The Wifi Module and voltage
regulator circuit are attached at the back of the bin.
Fig. 5. Prototype of the system
B. Database
Fig. 6. Database for end-user or worker information
 2018 IEEE Conference on Systems, Process and Control (ICSPC 2018), 14–15 December 2018, Melaka, Malaysia

Figure 6 above shows the database that stores worker

information. When the end-user or worker login in the web to
access the information, the update data can be seen in the figure.

Fig. 7. Database of bin status

Figure 7 shows the database that stores the bin status. In the
status column, it showed the ‘0’ value to indicate the bin is ‘not
full’. This happened when the ultrasonic sensor detects the
waste level status is ‘not full’. When the ultrasonic sensor
detects the bin is ‘full’, the status column showed ‘1’ value to Fig. 8. Login screen for end user to excess the database update
indicate the bin is ‘full’.

C. Mobile Application

Figure 8 shows the login function screen in the mobile

application. Login screen appears when the user/worker
accesses the mobile application. The user must enter the right
username and password as per registered in database. By
clicking the login button, the user will be directed to the home
screen. The user/worker un-registered will be directed to the
register screen. Figure 9 shows the mobile application
dropdown navigation bar. It consists of i) Home - for the home
screen, ii) ‘Add New Dust Bin’- to add new dustbin in the Fig. 9. Mobile App Navigation Bar
system and iii) ‘Logout’ - to logout from the application.
Figure 10 shows the mobile application screen to add
a new bin into the mobile application. After the bin is registered
in the database, the user/worker needs to add the new bin in the
mobile Apps by entering the operator ID and location as
registered in the database. Next, by clicking a ‘Submit’ button,
a new bin will be appeared in the mobile Apps. Bin ID and
operator name are displayed according to the information that
registered in the database. Figure 11 shows a mobile app home
screen when the bin is in ‘not full’ status. The screen will
display ‘Not Full’ along with user/worker information such as
dustbin id, operator name, operator id and location of the bin
that accessible in the database. Figure 12 shows the mobile
Apps home screen updates when the bin is in ‘full’. It displayed
a ‘Full’ notification at the user/worker’s information that
received from the database.

Fig. 10. Adding new bin (data)

190
 2018 IEEE Conference on Systems, Process and Control (ICSPC 2018), 14–15 December 2018, Melaka, Malaysia

sensitive to the surface properties rather than the object [8]. A

Fig. 11. Home screen display to indicate the bin is ‘Not Full’
smooth surface at the right angle is important for the wave to
produce ideal reflection [9]. Due to this condition the reflection
produce is considered as not ideal. Next, a set of measurement
is considered an object on flat surface area to compare with the
measurement non-flat surface are inside the bin.
Table II below is a flat surface measurement using the
ultrasonic sensor to analyse the difference between these two
measurements. Figure 14 shows the graph of distance
measurement obtained from the flat surface area. From the
graph, the sensor measurement and actual distance
measurement possessed a similarity with small differences. The
results indicate that the flat surface measurement using
ultrasonic sensor is more accurate compared to non-flat surface
measured in Figure 13. From this experiment, it shows that the
surface of an object and bin-base has influenced the accuracy
of ultrasonic sensor measurement.

TABLE I. DATA OF WASTE LEVEL IN THE BIN

No. Measured Actual Distance

Distance (cm)
(cm)
1 3.4 2
2 5.05 4.03
3 8.13 5.5
4 8.84 6.53
5 10.63 8.4
6 11.07 9.5
7 12.63 11
8 15.56 11.8
Fig. 12. Home Screen for ‘Full’ Bin

D. Analysis on the Ultrasonic Sensor Distance Measurement

The experimental work is conducted in to evaluate the
sensitivity and accuracy of ultrasonic sensor detecting the waste
level measures in distance. In the experimental work there are
two values of distance have been compared, i) value measured
by the controller and ii) the value measured manually using a
ruler. The waste level inside the bin is varied for eight times to
obtain difference distance values. The distance value that
appeared on the serial monitor and manual measurement value
is recorded for each measurement. Table I above show recorded
data during the experiment work. From this data, a graph is
plotted to analyse the difference between two measurements Fig. 13. Graph of waste level condition in distance
that defined as measured distance and actual distance.
Figure 13 shows the analysis of the distance measured
by the ultrasonic sensor for the different levels of waste. The
graph shows small difference between those measurements.
The distance that is detected by the sensor is not accurate when
compared with actual distance. This may happen due to the non-
flat surface inside the bin. The sensor’s echo evaluation is more

191
 2018 IEEE Conference on Systems, Process and Control (ICSPC 2018), 14–15 December 2018, Melaka, Malaysia

TABLE II. DATA OF GARBAGE LEVEL FOR FLAT SURFACE through to the mobile application (Apps) when the end-
user/worker access application. The accessible real-time update
through the database can benefit the municipalities, user or
No. Measured Actual Distance
worker to monitor the waste level inside the bin efficiently. The
Distance (cm)
developed system can be utilised to avoid overflowed waste and
(cm)
prevent environmental pollution. By using the developed
1 3.1 3 mobile application (Apps) the user/worker can take quick
2 action to manage the waste effectively without increasing cost,
4.1 4 energy and time. For the future recommendation, the ultrasonic
3 5 5 sensor can be replaced with high accuracy ultrasonic sensor.
4 The Wifi module possessed a limited coverage or network as it
6.07 6
only operates in certain range of area (km). Therefore, the GPS
5 7.01 7 application is much suitable to added to the developed system
6 8.09 8 as a future recommendation. The developed system is
potentially implemented and utilised in Malaysia for systematic
7 9.1 9 and efficient waste management.
8 10.6 10
REFERENCES

[1] I. A. Jereme, C. Siwar, R. A. Begum, B. A. Talib, and M. Alam,

“Assessing Problems And Prospects Of Solid Waste Management In
Malaysia,” vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 70–87, 2015.
[2] T. J. Sin, G. K. Chen, K. S. Long, I. Goh, and H. Hwang, “Current practice
of waste management system in Malaysia : Towards sustainable waste
management Current Practices for Malaysia.”
[3] M. R. Mustafa and K. A. K. N. F, “Smart Bin : Internet-of-Things Garbage
Monitoring System,” vol. 1030, pp. 1–4, 2017.
[4] R. Gorli, “A New Model for Smart Garbage Monitoring,” vol. 2, no. 6,
pp. 184–187, 2017.
[5] N. Sowmya and A. Prof, “Smart Trash Can Monitoring System using IoT
- Creating Solutions for Smart Cities,” pp. 238–242, 2018.
[6] S. Gore, S. Kadam, S. Mallayan, and S. Jadhav, “Review on Programming
ESP8266 with Over the Air Programming Capability,” vol. 7, no. 4, pp.
Fig. 14. Graph of flat surface area measurement 6684–6686, 2017.
[7] H. Masoudi, R. Alimardani, and M. Omid, “Determination of Ultrasonic
Sensor Ability for Use as Guidance Sensors of Mobile Robots,” vol. 24,
IV. CONCLUSION no. 3, pp. 115–126, 2012.
As the conclusion, the objectives of this project are [8] H. Sonar and S. Work, “Lab Exercise 6 : Ultrasonic Sensors.”
achieved. The waste level inside the bin can be identified using [9] C. Siwar, “Electronic copy available at:
ultrasonic sensor. The surface characteristic of the object and http://ssrn.com/abstract=2847468,” vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 408–418, 2015.
bin-base contributed to detection accuracy of waste level
measurement. Besides, the developed data is able to store the
data received from the Wifi Module and can be accessible

192