An Intelligent Bin Management System Design for
Smart City using GSM Technology
Bandana Prasad1, Sidhant Dalmia2, Sindhu Dasari3, Namita Arya4
1,2,3,4
University School of Information, Communication and Technology
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Dwarka, New Delhi, India
1
prasad.bandana1307@gmail.com, 2sidhantdalmia@gmail.com, 3dsu.ipu1995@gmail.com, 4aryanamita12@gmail.com,
Abstract: In our society, the trashcans are placed at public places
in the cities and it is overflowing due to tremendous growth of the
waste production every day. It leads to spreading of some diseases
and proliferating human ailment, to avoid such situation we have
designed “Intelligent Bin Management System for Smart City
using Mobile Application”. The main objective of our paper is to
monitor and manage the waste materials and create awareness
about the current system of management activities. The
conventional way of manually monitoring the waste in waste bins
is extremely sluggish process and utilizes more human efforts and
time which can easily be avoided with present technologies. This
paper practically demonstrates how internet of things (IOT)
Integration with data access networks and electronics engineering
can contribute to enhance cities management systems. We have
presented a waste collection solution based on providing
intelligence to trashcans, by using an Internet of things (IOT)
prototype embedded with sensors, which can read, collect and
transmit trash volume data over the GSM network.
Keyword: Arduino Mega 2560, Ultrasonic sensor, levelindicator,
GSM Module, proximity sensor
I. INTRODUCTION
The main reason we come up with smart trashcan is we
intended to make our cities smarter. We believe that the smart
dustbin can change the way we look at the dustbin and as well
enjoy the functions that it can bring. So, Smart Trashcan is
built on a microcontroller platform which is hygienic to use
and which can communicate (via GSM Module) the current
garbage level to concerned authorities, so that appropriate
action can be taken timely. It will eventually improve the life
quality and make our life more convenience. This idea could
be a good initiative towards the development of the country
when it will be implemented on a large scale. Smart trashcan
constantly checks current stock level. When the maximum
stock level is reached, the dustbin will notify the
department to collect the waste. Also we have designed an
android based application which will give regular updates
about the present and past scenario of the trashcan to the
concerned authority [5].
As per the information shared by ICA, India has become the
second largest mobile phone producer in the world after China.
Annual production of mobile phones in India increased from 3
million units in 2014 to 11 million units in 2017 [10].
According to the statistics, we believe that deploying smart
978-1-5386-4692-2/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE
trashcan in India will be successful. Presently, the smart
trashcans are available in a few colleges and some events for
testing, but they are optimistic that government agencies and
private companies are going to see wide scale deployment [4].
The rest of the paper is catalogued under the following
sections. Review of waste materials and the current system of
management activities are presented in section 1. Section 2
provides contribution of the paper. Section 3 is a detailed
description of Garbage Monitoring System and the hardware
components used in this paper. Modeling and operation of
level indicator, proximity sensor and Interconnections of GSM
are detailed in Section 4. All the experimental results are
showed in section 5. Finally, conclusions are summarized with
some future scope in Section 6.
II. CONTRIBUTION
As the idea of intelligently managing the waste material by
scientific technologies is a remarkable application of the smart
city and could be well implemented in near future. The
objective behind our paper mainly highlights some
considerable ways of waste monitoring and its collection
because it’s always a big agitation for everyone [15].
Monitoring trash levels at regular intervals can provide
actionable and insightful data and some negative effects of
foreseen situations can be minimized [7]. This is a very
significant, yet much ignored issue and a smart monitoring
system allows for proactive rather than a reactive approach. So
it would be very propitious for everyone once it got
implemented on a large scale.
III. PROPOSED SYSTEM DESIGN
The design is sheer and is driven by the fact that dustbins
require very incessant cleaning which is not always possible.
This leads to unhealthy environment and unfurl of diseases.
The prime objective of our system design is to get the dustbin
cleaned timely by using an alert service [1]. We have made a
model of waste monitoring system by using an ultrasonic
sensor that detects the garbage level automatically and will
send real time information about dustbins with the help of
GSM. We have divided the whole research work into three
phases to mitigate the intricacy of the entire system and it is
mentioned below in the form of block diagram.
2018 7th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (ICRITO) (Trends and Future Directions), August 29-31, 2018,
AIIT, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India

PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III

Level Use of Data

proximity sesor Compliation at
Detection & GSM Reception
technology

Fig. 3.1. Block diagram of garbage monitoring system

List of Hardware components used:

Arduino Mega 2560, GSM Module SIM900A, Ultrasonic
Sensor HC-SR04 (2), Power transistor TIP 31c, Diode D65,
DC Motors, LEDs, Resistors, Adaptor, USB Cable,
Breadboard, Connecting wires.

IV. WORKING METHODOLOGY Fig. 4.1(c). Schematic of level indicator circuit

Modeling and operation of level indicator
We have used ultrasonic sensor in this model which is working
as a level indicator. Placement of ultrasonic sensor is done in
such a way so that we would get more accurate level of the
waste material present in the trashcan.
Fig 4.1(a). Inserted ultrasonic sensor
We have placed it at the Centre of the lid due to which it could
be able to sense in all the directions and will give better
estimations of height. Then we have set the total three
thresholds level in which first threshold level is set up to 40%
of total height and it corresponds to green led. The second
level is set up to 70% of total height and it corresponds to
yellow led. The third level is set up to 90% of total height and
it corresponds to red led. Also the alarming led will be ON at
the final stage that is present on the surface of the lid and then
the system will not allow the trashcan to open its lid
automatically until it is cleared.
Modeling and operation of proximity sensor
The general working of proximity sensor is to detect the
nearby objects without any physical contact. We have used
ultrasonic sensor for this purpose. Since we could also use
infrared sensor but it will not be able to sense anything in the
absence of light. The ultrasonic sensor is placed at the opening
end of the lid so that if anyone goes closer to it, the lid will
open and close automatically. Two dc motors are placed at the
bottom side that will rotate whenever we give a voltage supply
of 12V and it is connected to Arduino. So predominantly
Arduino board is the main controlling unit and all the sensors
and other devices are interfaced with it. We have used a
voltage supply of 12V. Instead of giving 12V input to Arduino
we can only obtain maximum output of 5V due to presence of
voltage regulator in the Arduino board. But dc motor can’t
operate with such low voltage supply, so we have designed a
switching circuit in breadboard using power transistor and
diode that works as an intermediate between Arduino and dc
motor. The base terminal of power transistor is connected to
one kilo ohm resistor and digital pin 3 of Arduino. One side of
motor is connected to the collector terminal and other side is
connected directly to the 12V voltage supply.

Fig. 4.2(a). Proximity sensor

Fig 4.1(b). Circuit of level indicator on breadboard
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2018 7th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (ICRITO) (Trends and Future Directions), August 29-31, 2018,
Fig. 4.2(b). Schematic of switching circuit
Since diode has two terminals in which the cathode side is
directly connected to the 12V voltage supply and anode side is
connected to the collector terminal. The emitter terminal of
power transistor is grounded. These connections are for left dc
motor and the same switching circuit is made for the right dc
motor but only the base terminal is connected to the digital pin
2 of the Arduino through one kilo ohm resistor. As we have set
a maximum distance of 15 cm from the trashcan, so whenever
anyone crosses that distance, the dc motor will start rotating
and the lid will open automatically. Above schematic diagram
of switching circuit is made to give a clear idea of connections
and working of dc motor through microcontroller.
Interconnection of GSM
In this research work, GSM SIM 900A module is used to send
the alert signals in the form of message. This module supports
communication in 900MHz band and uses both time and
frequency division multiple access for transferring the data.
GSM module is connected with the power adapter of 24W
which contains 12V voltage and 2A current that is necessary to
turn it ON. It contains three led that are network led shown by
green color, status led shown by blue color and power led
shown by red color. When the GSM will be ON, the power led
will start glowing. The status led will be stable only when it
gets sufficient current. Network led will glow only when it
establishes connection with the mobile network.
Fig. 4.3. External connection of GSM module
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AIIT, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
During the course of garbage accumulation, whenever the
height difference falls below threshold value, GSM module
gets activated and notifies concerned authority through an alert
signal in the form of messages. When the level of trashcan
reaches upto 40% of total height, then an alert signal will be
generated in the form of SMS and will be sent to the head of
that place that is running the waste management system. The
message alerts will be sent to the main phone which is
controlling by the head of that region and all the information
and data will be stored in the application that is being installed
only in the phone of admin. When the level reaches upto 90%
of total height, final SMS will be sent to the admin written
“Garbage bin is full, immediate action is needed”. In any case,
if he is not able to respond, then no further messages will be
sent until trashcan is cleaned. So when they received SMS,
concerned authority can place orders to the workers for
cleaning the filled bins on time without allowing them to
overflow.
Android application “Smart trash”
We have designed an android based application named “smart
trash” which will compile and interpret all the data that is
being generated by the trashcan. This app is mainly design to
recollect all the information about the present and past scenario
of the trashcan and it will be run by the concerned authority of
that particular place. Also, the smart trashcan app will give
regular updates about the current situation and it will reduce
the human efforts and cost by an immense amount. As we
have distributed level indicator function in three
Fig. 4.4. Running application of the design
stages that is clearly shown in this app and the indicator circuit
is mainly designed for better clarity. In the first stage green
light will glow which indicates that trashcan is filled upto 40%
of total height. When it reaches upto 70%, the yellow led will
start glowing and again a SMS will be sent via GSM in the
mobile of concerned authority who is the admin of that region
regarding the bin condition. When the level reaches upto 90%
of total height, red led will start glowing and this time a SMS
will be sent to higher authority staff. If no action would be
2018 7th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (ICRITO) (Trends and Future Directions), August 29-31, 2018,
AIIT, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India

taken, then further no SMS will be sent regarding this. When
the trashcan is cleaned, then an acknowledgement will be sent
in the form of SMS alert to the admin. So, this application is
extremely helpful as it will give regular updates and will be
used for further enhancement of the entire management
process.
Comprehensive System Approach
In this system, we have used two ultrasonic sensors in which
first ultrasonic sensor is working as a level indicator that will
measure the total height of garbage filled in the dustbin and the
second ultrasonic sensor is Working as a proximity sensor
which will sense anything that comes closer to it and the lid of
the bin will open automatically.
Fig. 4.5(b). Connections of integrated network
In the third phase, we have designed the mobile application
where we are doing all the compilations of the data and their
interpretation. When GSM sends SMS to the reception site, it
will store all the data regarding the conditions of the bin. We
will collect the whole data of a week and then inform the
highest authority of MCD about the running scenario. This app
is mainly based on time escalation and all the alert signals will
be generated for a specific time interval. As soon as an SMS
alert is received, concerned authority can place orders to the
workers for cleaning the waste bins on time without allowing
them to overflow. This is the overall creation and working
methodology of our model.
V. EXPERIMENTS AND RESULT

Interfacing of all the components

The circuitry shown below contains all the components that are
used in the system. Arduino is ON and it’s serially
communicating with other devices and acting as a main control
unit. Though the circuitry has become quite complicated due to
large number of jumper wires but still we have tried to manage
the performance with a delay of 1-2ms.

Fig. 4.5(a). Internal connections of the trashcan

In the first phase, mainly level indicator circuit is designed that

plays a very important role in the subsequent process After that
we bring the concept of GSM Module that is used for
transmission of information from one place to another through
mobile communication in the form of SMS alert. So, a certain
threshold level is set and whenever the garbage crosses the
threshold limit, a SMS alert will be sent via GSM Technology.
During garbage accumulation, whenever the difference falls
below the threshold value GSM module gets activated to send
an alert signal to the reception site. This overall mechanism is
done in the second phase of the project.

Fig. 5.1. Data is transferring between components

Results of proximity sensor

Fig. 5.2(a). Lid gets open when to nearby object

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2018 7th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (ICRITO) (Trends and Future Directions), August 29-31, 2018,
AIIT, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India

Above figure contains how much lid is opening by the trashcan

with the use of DC motor and ultrasonic sensor. We have set a
threshold distance of 15cm and if anyone crosses that distance,
the lid of trashcan will be opened automatically. It is
approximately opening the lid to an angle of 76 degree which
is sufficient for anyone to throw the garbage. This operation is
mainly performed by using ultrasonic sensor which is used as a
proximity sensor and two dc motors. We are providing 12V
input supply to the Arduino but it is not possible to drive the dc
motor directly with it because Arduino can give maximum Fig. 5.3(c). 3rd stage of the indicator circuit
output voltage of 5V. So to circumvent this issue, we have
designed a switching circuit by using power transistors and
diodes so that we could able to use dc motors with Arduino.

Results of level indicator with GSM technology

The results are quite upto the expectations as the GSM have
sent SMS according to the set threshold height and also the
different colored LEDs have been ON correspondingly. So,
below all the figures represent the results of level indicator
circuit and the screenshots of the message alerts that would be
sent to the mobile of MCD officers who is running the
application. All the three stages is distinctly shown by level
indicator circuit that has been inserted in the trashcan mainly
for highlighting its current status. At the third stage, when the
level of the bin reaches upto 90% of the total height, the
alarming LED will start glowing and then the automatic
opening and closing function of the lid will not be operational
anymore until it would be completely cleaned by the workers.

Fig. 5.3(d). Alarming LED is glowing

Result of designed network in mobile application

We have designed an android application named “smart
Fig. 5.3(a). 1st stage of the indicator circuit
trashcan” which will tell all the past and present information
regarding the status of the bin condition. The image that is
shown below is giving us a rough idea of how the level in the
app will vary according to the waste material present in it.

Fig. 5.3(b). 2nd stage of the indicator circuit

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2018 7th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (ICRITO) (Trends and Future Directions), August 29-31, 2018,
AIIT, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India

better logistic carrier and will dismiss the staff who are not
working properly.

Fig. 5.4. Image of garbage level in trashcan

So, whenever the garbage crosses the threshold level, a

perspicuous picture of graph will come on the mobile
application which gives the current status regarding the bin
condition. To represent this graph, we have made a level
indicator circuit to get the clear view of the things by
practically performing the experiment.

VI. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

We have satisfactorily done the research work on smart

trashcan and concluded with some interesting results. The level
detector is giving a good estimation of heights and indicating
its status with different color led. Moreover, the proximity
sensor present at the outside of trashcan is completely able to
detect nearby objects and exactly opening its lid for nearby
objects. The alert service of GSM is successfully running in
the whole system and is receiving timely notification
according to the status of trashcan. So all the data is collected
and stored wisely in a mobile application that we could further
use for future enhancements in the system. According to the
results obtained, this complete design is successfully
implemented for a single trashcan. The proposed design could
be well executed with integrated network of multiple trashcans
each having its own GSM network. Also we have designed a
basic android application that is only giving the regular
updates about the trashcan of a particular region. We could
also add so many extra features related to location and shortest
route to be followed for saving time and fuel. We could also
design one more app that would be for highest authority of that
state in which all the unsolved cases of the particular regions
will be sent. That application will be connected to our
application which is designed for concerned authority of
particular region. If we will able to design such an application,
then smart trashcan will be implemented on a very larger scale.
Also we will have complete information about the current
status of every region and from that, further action would be
taken for its improvement like the MCD will tied up with

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AIIT, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India

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