The smartphone app for minimized food scrap contamination
Placing organics carts within a closed unit, with foot pedal operation for touch free disposal of food scraps is a great way to encourage user acceptance, but how do you make sure these are only organics, not other recycling streams or even trash?
Contaminated food waste streams are a significant challenge, and reliable solutions at source are needed to ensure the effort in setting up the deposit scheme, hauler and organics recovery arrangements does not result in rejected feedstocks.
Integral to the development of metroSTOR cart enclosures are reliable access control systems that are both easy to use and uncomplicated to administer. There are two types that can be specified on metroSTOR F-Series units; metroKEY is our Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) smartphone app and an electronic keypad version. Both types of controller activate the same electronic latch system and have the same low energy battery requirement.
Where the organics drop off facility is limited to users familiar with recycling norms, then the electronic keypad access control is a great solution. It eliminates casual use and is often specified for seniors accommodation where smartphones may not as widely used as they are elsewhere in society.
metroKEY is an interactive access control system, delivering end to end visibility on how the drop off facility is being used, with a user interface that actively encourages participation with fast sign up, easy to follow instructions, map locations of units, and clear information on what can be deposited. The metroKEY web portal displays clear information for scheme administrators specific to each unit providing comprehensive user analysis to measure scheme effectiveness and control misuse. It also enables new messaging to be displayed as required and shows any faults that have been reported via the app. Smart bin fill sensor technology, allows scheme administrators to optimize waste collections by remotely monitoring unit fill levels across the network of drop-off facilities. Smartphone app users can also see when a bin is full, allowing them to navigate to the nearest available drop-off location.
An additional feature within the metroKEY platform enables administrators to pre-approve organics collection users via an email list, thus reducing administrative burdens and enabling different streams to be created such as between users paying and non-paying for the service.
Making circularity work for real in our modern urban environment requires innovation and commitment. The combination of metroSTOR organics cart enclosures and metroKEY app control, increases food waste diversion from landfill and minimizes food scrap contamination.
metroKEY is available for download on both Android and iOS systems, enabling users to create their own metroKEY account following a standard 2-step verification and password set up using their smartphone. Once logged in to the metroKEY app, access to the unit can be granted once the one time ‘tick box’ user agreement condition has been met. This feature means that Admin intervention is not required to grant user access at the time, though within the metroKEY web portal, your admin staff are able to both grant and revoke user access as necessary.
The heart of metroKEY is its web based portal, with clear graphics and an intuitive layout for easy administration of access control to your organics collection locations. Here your admin users can add and remove standard users (residents) from their registered latches as required, view the latest latch battery status, view any “report a problem” requests and also view and export access history for external data evaluation. Designed for low energy operation metroKEY has no modem connection as the app communicates via mobile phone technology with the web portal. This means the initial unit locations are plotted manually within the web portal and identified via the BLE address.
metroKEY is also a communicator, conveying valuable information both to and from the organization. Within the admin web portal, the user interface can be configured with messaging, customizable text and waste stream illustrations. The user interface can be set to an organization’s corporate colors and branding, adjustment in the length of time the unit is unlocked and select from alternative reporting options. The user device interface can also be personalized with a ‘my profile’ section.
Making recycling as easy as trash disposal demands streamlined processes that enable access to the organics unit. Once users have signed in, the metroKEY app opens the unit latch via an illustrated pop-up question banner with a simple yes/no tick box for access once the user is within Bluetooth range of the unit, without the need of admin approval. This ensures residents aren’t waiting for administration to grant access and avoids the related issues with side waste that can result.
The metroKEY administrator panel on the web portal shows the latch status for each organics unit, whether its open or closed, locked or unlocked and the length of time since the BLE controller batteries were changed. It allows admin users to see access history of each unit showing the users access and time stamp of access. Within the web portal this data can be exported for further analysis and comparison.
On the metroKEY user interface, the ‘report a problem’ button can be customized as required, with standard drop down selection including such options as the bin is full, the bin requires cleaning, the unit is damaged etc and will then notify the admin user via a notification to the web portal for further action.
Making circularity work for real in our urban environments requires innovation and commitment. Here the combination of metroSTOR organics cart enclosures and metroKEY app control, increases food waste diversion from landfill and minimizes food scrap contamination.
