Smart Waste Management Survey: Comparison of needs and challenges in three different sized northern cities

Effective waste management is an essential service and a challenging task for any city. The aim of this study is to collect information from stakeholders of three different sized northern cities and identify the current status, main needs and challenges of waste management in a city context. The work adopts a survey-based research method. Surveys for service consumers (i.e., residents) and service providers (i.e., authorities and companies) were carried out in Helsinki, Lappeenranta (Finland), and St. Petersburg (Russia), additionally surveys for service providers (i.e., authorities and companies) were carried out in Helsinki. The surveys focused on household waste sorting and urban waste management, waste management logistics, waste management in public places (i.e., parks and recreational areas), and new technologies in waste management. We identified needs and challenges of waste management in each of the 3 cities. We also analyzed the possible causes of the identified challenges based on additional comments from the respondents and compared the results in the different cities with each other. It was found that common problem areas are sorting of multiple waste types, logistics, and maintenance of cleanliness in public spaces. Based on the survey results we created general guidelines utilizing IoT and other technological solutions that can be adopted for tackling different waste management challenges. These guidelines can be used by city authorities and other stakeholders engaged in waste management activities.