DAA Group, the airport management authority for Dublin and Cork airports in Ireland, has introduced Ecube Labs’ waste collection optimization solution at Dublin Airport. Installed in cooperation with ESE World, Europe’s leading manufacturer of temporary storage systems for waste and recyclables, the technology has enabled the airport to achieve significant cost savings from increased waste collection efficiency already within three months of installation.
Before installing the solution which consists of wireless ultrasonic fill-level sensors and a cloud-based monitoring and analytics platform, Dublin Airport had to collect each waste container up to four times a day, costing a substantial amount of time and money. To solve the problem, the airport purchased 300 Clean CAP fill-level sensors to monitor the generation of waste and recyclables in all passenger bins across Dublin Airport’s two terminals. By utilizing the software platform’s intelligent algorithms, the facility managers are able to optimize the waste collection schedules based on the combination of real-time data and fill-level forecasting.
Hannah Forbes, Contract Services Specialist at Dublin Airport stated, “After deploying the solution, we have been able to go from collecting 840 containers 4 times a day to collecting just 80 containers a day. This has increased our operational efficiency upwards of 90% and resulted in significant cost savings. The solution has also provided us with data which has allowed us to recognise peak times in areas and from that adjust the allocation of staffing in those areas as well as increase waste container capacity where needed.”
Besides increasing operational waste collection efficiency, the solution has enabled the facilities team to reallocate their time into maintaining the public washrooms and passenger areas across the airport. The sensors have also allowed the facility managers to analyze the type of waste produced in each area, making it possible to keep a close eye on recycling rates. Thanks to the positive results, the airport authorities are now considering extending the installation to all staff areas.
Roger Kim, COO at Ecube Labs stated, “With the outstanding results at Dublin Airport, DAA Group has demonstrated that Ecube Labs’ IoT technology and analytics can help facility management operations to reach new heights of efficiency. Ecube Labs’ trifecta of sensor technology, predictive algorithms, and optimization models not only effectively reduce the operational costs of waste collection, it enables data-driven allocations of valuable resources such as staff. We are delighted to be at the heart of the smart city revolution in Dublin.”
