The City of Baltimore has awarded a $15 million contract to a South Korean Company, which will install smart trash cans in various locations around the city.
South Korean company Ecube Labs has procured a $15 million contract to install smart trash cans around Baltimore. Baltimore’s Board of Estimates approved the contract on Wednesday, January 24, which has given the company the go-ahead to begin installation of the solar-powered trash cans in the coming weeks -- it'll be the largest smart waste deployment in global history. The smart trash cans will help improve waste management productivity through a wireless connection that communicates with the Public Works center so that whenever it's near full capacity, the department offices are notified so that collection only occurs when necessary. In the long run, more efficient trash collection routes help to cut down on fuel costs, labor, use of government resources, and carbon emissions. [gallery type="rectangular" size="large" ids="7466,7467"]
The first phase of installation of the new smart trash cans will happen in the first quarter of the year. Specific areas have not been determined yet. Ecube and the city have planned to initiate phase two in the second half of the year, and will double the number of installed smart trash cans by the end of 2018.
Installing smart trash cans in the city certainly is a good idea, and the new system will at least partially pay for itself, but its overall impact will be minimal until every trash can is a smart trash can. While several companies have developed smart home trash can technology, Baltimore and other cities are merely taking the first step by partially utilizing the technology in public places such parks, sidewalks, and shopping centers.
How would you feel about the use of smart trash cans and systems in residential and commercial areas? Is it the government's duty to upgrade waste management systems? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, and let's get the discussion started.
