IoT-sensor-equipped food waste bio composter to households and to advance eGovernment in municipality authorities’ waste management practices

Tuula Löytty¹, Sami Rantamäki², Hannamaija Fontell², Kalle Karlsson¹

¹Smart & Lean Hub Oy, Finland²

Biolan Oy, Finland

Abstract

Background: Finnish policymakers issued a new community waste law in 2022.  The municipalities launch the law implementation and are responsible for the supervision. The law aims to increase households’ food waste recycling. 

Problem: The waste law implementation and supervision increase authorities’ workload and public costs.  Public servants manage the households’ compost register and carry out compost audits on-site.

The challenge: The challenge is to put in place the new waste management law with the lowest public costs.

Purpose: The research addresses the validation of the pioneering IT solution. The IT solution promotes households’ bio composting and aims to ease waste management authorities’ workload by fostering eGovernment.

Methods: The intervention is to deliver the IoT-sensor-equipped bio composter and associated applications. The research applies a mission-oriented approach. It establishes a place-based, multi-actor, participatory, and open innovation testbed at Living Lab. It leverages the Lean Startup process and SWOT analysis. The research method complies with Responsible Research and Innovation principles.

Conclusions: The IoT-sensor-equipped bio-composter is a feasible solution.  Municipality waste management authorities consider the IoT-sensor-equipped solution not beneficial from their perspective. The eGovernment strategy is not a driver in this case.   Remote bio composter mapping and monitoring could be a future tool for real estate maintenance companies. 

Key words

legislation, municipality, food waste, recycling, bio composter, Living Lab, Internet of Things, eGovernment, city region food systems