You probably went as a tourist to visit some cities during your lifetime, so you know that one of the most off-putting things you can see there are overflowing bins, stray trash bags, and the smell of rotting waste. It can make you dislike the entire city, no matter what else it has to offer. Now, imagine being citizens of such city – it’s not a pleasant picture.
As a local authority, there are many things you can do to improve the daily lives of the citizens of your city. Even minor changes can improve how citizens experience the city, but also can impact tourism and whether visitors will return.
Some of the most visible and obvious things are well-organised public transportation or bike lanes, cultural events, festivals, cleanliness, and aesthetics – such as the number of green spaces in the city. But cleanliness can mean many things: clean streets, clean green spaces and water, or clean, empty public trash cans.
If there is one thing people crave in their daily lives, it’s a clean and pleasant environment. Good waste management can provide that.
Here’s how advantages of a good waste management system can positively impact the daily lives of citizens:
#1 Well-timed waste collections
Imagine you’re on your way home from work. You’re about to enter the building, and then you see it. The trash can you didn’t think about in the morning is now overflowing. Even worse, when you go to work the next morning, it’s even worse – you can smell it from a distance.
Why did no one do anything about it? Something the citizens haven’t thought about before is now bothering them. If there were a smart, sensor-using system in place, that would have never happened, as it can help determine when bins are at the optimal moment to empty – not too early, not too late. A well-timed collection makes life easier for citizens. They don’t have to deal with overflowing, smelly bins, and the risk of rodents is lower.
#2 Decreased trash pick-ups
Trash pick-ups are a disturbance within daily life – they are disturbing the flow of city life. If there is a way to decrease them while still not letting bins overflow – do it. It might be easier than you think. Achieving the first step from this list automatically results in a decrease in trash pick-ups. Haulers don’t have to go for emptying just because they were scheduled – they go when there is actually a need.
Trash pick-ups are not a pleasant situation for citizens, but a necessary one. They are loud, sometimes smelly, and disturb the flow of the street. Sometimes they can even lead to the creation of short-lived local traffic. Limiting them will increase citizens’ life satisfaction.
#3 Conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
One of the biggest enemies of public health is environmental pollution. One of the most visible types of pollution in cities is air pollution – greenhouse gas emissions and smog. Since cities have the highest concentration of cars and other vehicles, it is also where pollutants are most concentrated.
This means citizens are in a high-risk group when it comes to health complications. These health problems will later lead to extra expenses in the healthcare sector. Prevention is better than healing, so when there is a chance to reduce pollutants, for example by following the previous steps on this list, citizens will appreciate the better air quality.
#4 Reducing financial costs
Following all the steps from above will save you money. How? Decreasing pick-ups means the amount of fuel used by the hauler trucks needed will decrease – and with that, the costs. If the system allows for task automation, it can also mean optimization in human resources.
Less money spent in the waste management sector means there will be more resources that could be used elsewhere.
One tool that can help improve the daily lives of citizens is the WasteHero platform. Our platform allows you to automate the process of creating routes in the most efficient way, manage your fleet and employees, monitor your operational performance, and much more. Want to learn more about how our solution can help you? Contact us here!
