In the summer of 2014, a pivotal moment for the city’s waste management policy occurred in Nitra, a town in Western Slovakia with a population of approximately 80 thousand, marking a fundamental shift in waste collection on a global scale – Sensoneo installed its first sensors to monitor bin fullness. This move positioned Nitra as a pioneer in data-driven waste collection. More than 10 years later, both the City of Nitra and Sensoneo continue to innovate.
“We are proud to have been among the first to test this technology and contribute our insights to its development,” recalls Miloš Ballay, Technical and Operations Manager of NKS (Nitrianske Komunálne Služby). Notably, both hardware and software technologies have advanced dramatically over the past decade, with data reliability, maintenance, and service improving exponentially. “The reliability has increased manifold,” Ballay emphasizes.
Currently, Nitra boasts 440 semi-underground monitored bins throughout the city, serviced by two collection vehicles. Sensoneo’s solutions not only enhance NKS’s service quality but also boost citizen satisfaction by ensuring reliable collections and preventing overflowing bins. NKS leverages sensor data primarily for daily operations and strategic planning: “The most important data comes from the sorted collection. Overall, apart from optimizing the collection, the data is important, for example, for major unexpected cleanings by citizens. The technology makes it easy to prevent late collection of oversized waste and cleanup of overflowing stands.”
As part of the modernization of waste management, the City of Nitra and NKS have further ambitious plans. These include not only the introduction of a camera system at the sites but also a detailed evaluation of waste collection. This will significantly contribute to the modernization and more efficient operation of waste policy in Nitra.
Over time, the sensors have endured various challenges, including fires in the bins. However, even after these fires, they continued sending data to the system, proving their robustness and durability.
After a decade of collaboration, NKS expresses overwhelming satisfaction with Sensoneo’s solution. The technology not only meets but exceeds expectations, contributing to a more efficient waste monitoring system. These innovations have positioned Nitra as a leading example of waste management excellence, setting new standards not just in Slovakia but across Europe.
