Wilcox Textiles Reclaimers and Processors decide on the waste management technology of the future.

Established in 1895, Wilcox Textile Reclaimers is a family-owned corporation involved in the reclamation, recycling and export of high-quality clothing and other textile goods to Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as the largest producer/reclaimer in the U.K., in the top ten in Europe, and a major world player. Working closely with charities, local authorities and waste recycling companies, Wilcox has long been a technologically astute company, constantly challenging old ideas and practices and developing new systems in the fields of collection, sorting, marketing and distribution. Having recently installed new sorting lines that allow high-volume throughput in conjunction with increased sorting quality, Wilcox Chief Executive Officer Martin Wilcox sought a way to eliminate the waste associated with inefficient collection processes where collection vehicles were sent to collection bins without knowing if the were full, half-full or even empty – a huge waste of manpower, fuel and resources.

The SmartBin Recycling Bank Solution was the answer. SmartBin’s technicians installed sensors in Wilcox’s 880-pound-capacity bins whose data was sent to a web portal that allowed the client to monitor the fill-level of every bin on a real-time basis, and to get reports and alerts via SMS or email, all for a minimal monthly subscription fee. The results of the pilot run exceeded all expectations -- SmartBin’s robust automated solution completely eliminated unnecessary waste collection trips for Wilcox. In fact, the SmartBin solution provided much more than just real-time fill-level information on the bins being monitored. During the trial period, the decision was made to initially continue with the existing collection regime, as if the sensors were not there, as a comparison. This demonstrated that very many bins were being serviced/emptied when the bins were only 25-percent to 50-percent full, and that on some occasions the bins were overflowing and site clean-up was necessary in addition to bin servicing, which at times exposed Wilcox to fines from the site owners.

The unmonitored bin fill levels proved so unpredictable that when compared to the precision provided by SmartBin’s technology and service, the results were nothing short of astounding, with the total number of service trips reduced by over 37 percent. Wilcox benefited in several other ways: it could now archive and process the data that SmartBin was providing through its sensors that can be leveraged in numerous ways in the future, further reducing costs and increasing profitability. Wilcox could now also meet and exceed its regulatory obligations to reduce carbon emissions. And it accomplished all this with no capital outlay and no need for any special training of its employees.

“We were able to make very precise measurements that dramatically underlined the huge cost savings that SmartBin technology was providing,” states Mark McCarville, SmartBin’s Director & Founder. “Both in terms of the loss of revenue from dispatching collection vehicles to less-than-full bins on a regular basis, and in terms of the carbon footprint of each of those trucks – which we estimated at 4.5 tons of carbon per year, per truck, times 40 trucks! – the savings from only sending trucks to bins once they were full was remarkable. And that’s what SmartBin is all about: taking an industry – materials recycling – that is already intended as an ecologically beneficial proposition, and making it that much more beneficial to society while also making it that much more profitable to those doing the work of recycling. When it comes to doing well by doing good, this is as good as it gets.”

SmartBin enters into a long term agreement with one of the biggest textile collectors in Belgium

23 June 2011

We are extremely happy to announce that we have been awarded a contract from Terre asbl - one of the biggest textile collectors in Belgium - to deliver our intelligent monitoring solution for Terre's clothing bins. Terre has been involved in the collection of recyclables (including textiles, paper, glass, etc.) for nearly 60 years and they are well known for their continuous involvement in social economy and solidarity.

Initially SmartBin system has been implemented in Terre's clothing donation bins on a trial basis and it provided data with relation to the fill level of each bin and gave access to performance reports and historical information for better utilization of assets. As a result of this trial and implementation of required changes Terre decided to sign a 5 year agreement with SmartBin and use the technology across a substantial range of clothing bins.

Alan Mangan from SmartBin and Jose Constant from Terre asbl sigining the agreement.

Terre will use SmartBin’s latest wireless sensor technology. The sensors have an internal antenna which eliminates the need to lead any cables outside the bin. It’s extremely easy to install and its long life battery pack will last approx. 5 years. Depending on the type of waste or recyclables measured and the depth of containers, SmartBin offers either “small eye” or “large eye” sensors. They use either infra-red or ultrasonic technology to measure a wide range of materials. These extremely reliable and rugged wireless sensors are located discreetly in the top of each bin and employ intelligent processing to eliminate any errors associated with random blocking events.

SmartBin sensors measure a range of parameters, including bin fill level, bin empty events, battery level and other key parameters at set times during 24-hour cycles. By logging in to SmartBin’s secure user interface, companies can also get an access to all kinds of metrics and Key Performance Indicators relating to their assets (yield recovered per lift, bin utilization, collection efficiencies etc.). The system has been further enhanced with Bin Location and Route Optimization capabilities.

The SmartBin live web interface is intuitively configured as the Map View tab providing a Google map with color-coded markers for each bin site, indicating the fill-level relative to user-established thresholds. This birds-eye view of bins under management allows clients to make intelligent fleet deployment decisions for collection.

“SmartBin’s real-time bin monitoring services provide modern businesses with significantly improved efficiency, traceability and greenness that they need to be successful. We are very happy to be able to bring all this to Terre and we hope for a long lasting cooperation based on mutual support,” states Alan Mangan, Director of Business Development in SmartBin.

SmartBin signs a long term contract with Fretex A/S in Norway

SmartBin has been recently chosen by Fretex A/S in Norway to implement its remote monitoring system in their clothing donation bins. Fretex is a social enterprise, established in 1905 and is a major contributor in the field of recycling in Norway, both in textiles and paper.

The Norwegian company trialed the system in 30 clothing bins over a period of 8 weeks. After a successful trial, Fretex decided to implement SmartBin system across a wide range of their bins. 5 year contract will provide the Norwegian company with most up to date, real-time data from the performance of their clothing bins. SmartBin wireless sensors will measure a range of parameters, including bin fill level, bin empty events, battery level and other key parameters at set times during 24-hour cycles and this data will be available on the user interface for planning of collection trips. Fretex will be able to monitor and improve their trip efficiency by using Plan My Route option in the system. This will also allow them to know how much weight will be collected before their drivers go out to empty the bins, and how much carbon emissions will be used on a particular collection route. SmartBin wireless sensors will enable Fretex to generate substantial savings in their fleet managemet costs.

Fretex textile containers which are fitted with SmartBin sensors

Fretex will monitor their clothing bins using SmartBin live web interface which is intuitively configured as the Map View tab providing a Google map with color-coded markers for each bin site, indicating the fill-level relative to user-established thresholds. The company will be monitoring bin fill levels and KPIs of 400 textile containers. 

“We are very excited about working with Fretex and we are looking forward to bringing them savings in their collections operations”, said Alan Mangan, Director of Business Development in SmartBin.  

SmartBin teams up with Ragtex UK to bring substantial cost savings to the textile collector

SmartBin is delighted to announce that it has entered into an agreement with one of the long established textile recycling companies, Ragtex UK, to supply them with its flagship solution for remote monitoring of bin fill levels in textile containers. The solution will provide Ragtex with fully integrated and fully automated alert system which aims at eliminating wasted collection journeys and consequently cutting down carbon emissions.

Ragtex has over 30 years experience in recycling quality used clothes, shoes, household linen and toys which are exported to Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

The company decided to trial SmartBin sensors to analyze the data from the performance of their bins and to ensure that the bins involved in the trial are being used and managed optimally.

"We're confident that Ragtex will see substantial cost savings and will be able to manage their routes more efficiently by dispatching their vehicles to collect full or nearly-full bins only", says Alan Mangan, Director of Business Development in SmartBin.