As of next January, lucky residents in two Abu Dhabi neighborhoods will be getting high-tech trash bins.

 

The bins are actually owned by the municipality’s waste contractors, who will introduce the new technology in two pilot areas. The challenge will be getting everyone to place the trash inside the “intelligent” garbage cans.

 

Each bin is electronically chipped with its geographic and technical details. Garbage trucks will be fitted with a device that can read the bin data, and link to a central monitoring station which records collection times and alerts management when the units need washing. Compared to the electronic monitoring of private communications recently exposed in the USA, this data collection is minor; but unlike the US surveillance, this one the public welcomes.

 

The monitoring station can quickly determine the last pick-up and check if collections were missed.

 

The pilot is aimed at squashing persistent complaints about inconsistent pick-up (residents making a stink about uncollected trash will receive quicker municipal attention), and better serving the emirate’s overarching waste-to-energy ambitions.

 

Abu Dhabi produces an estimated million metric tons of non-recycled municipal solid waste (MSW) annually, which can produce 100 megawatts of energy, the same amount of power as the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, Shams which also opened in March in Abu Dhabi.