Batch collection thanks to smart locks

Smart locks for containers and stands

The plans of several cities include the construction of electronically lockable container stations. This is an area in which Sensoneo specializes. In addition to international clients, our solutions are also used by Slovak customers, including cities such as Dubnica, Sučany, and Topoľčany. It is precisely there that our solution has successfully reduced waste tourism and identified non-payers.

Our experience confirms that little attention is paid to the locking and access control of racks (compared to the racks themselves). Yet it is precisely the requirements for their technical design that determine their long-term reliability and are key to the success of bulk collection.

Smart locks in Topoľčany

Topoľčany has a population of 24,000. For a long time, the city has faced so-called “waste tourism,” in which people from other towns and villages would come to Topoľčany and dump their trash in the local large-capacity semi-underground containers. This caused the containers to overflow, polluted public spaces, and led to significant dissatisfaction among local residents. Another problem was non-payers—residents living in rented apartments who were not registered in the city’s records. These residents used the containers but did not pay for their removal or waste disposal.

In the summer of 2022, the city decided to install smart locks from Sensoneo on its recycling bins. It implemented a remote access control system on more than 150 bins at 30 locations and distributed more than 6,500 access chips to registered residents. To manage access to the containers and monitor data, employees of the City Services Department use the Lockneo software platform. Employees can easily add and remove users and issue new chips as needed.

Sensoneo Smart Locks 

• The device does not require manual registration at the containers
• It does not require an electrical connection to operate—it runs on batteries, which are guaranteed to last for 100,000 openings
• Data is transmitted via Internet of Things networks—meaning it can operate even in areas without utility infrastructure
• It can remotely assign new users and immediately grant them access to specific containers or stands
• The device can be installed on a variety of containers, fences, and structures

The Benefits of Smart Locks

The most significant benefit is the visibly cleaner area around the containers, free of illegal waste, as confirmed not only by city officials but also by residents themselves. Another significant benefit is the identification and registration of previously unrecorded users of the waste infrastructure, which has brought the city additional funds for waste management. At the same time, the user database has been refined and updated—covering not only residents but also legal entities. 

Key results in numbers

• a 15% reduction in the volume of municipal waste generated
• 250 new waste collection and disposal customers identified
• A 4.5% increase in the waste sorting rate

The city’s future plans

Topoľčany plans to continue expanding its network of semi-underground containers equipped with a remote access management system—the city sees this as a solid foundation for the citywide implementation of volume-based waste collection. Residents are also coming up with suggestions for further improvements, such as consolidating access chips for multiple functions—a single RFID chip could open not only containers but also, for example, the entrance doors to apartment buildings.

Smart locks in Dubnica nad Váhom

The city began gradually installing smart locks in late winter 2021 with the aim of curbing littering, keeping the areas around the containers clean, and later using the system to implement address-based volume-based waste collection in residential areas.