DESCRIPTION

In a general aspect thereof, the present invention relates to a method for managing separate urban waste, i.e. waste that is generally collected at domestic level and then handled in such a way as to allow it to be recycled or anyway disposed of through processes having a low environmental impact.

As is known, in fact, the strong focus that is currently being kept on environmental issues by authorities and/ or by the public opinion has resulted in the population paying much attention to waste recovery and recycling in general.

This makes it possible to reduce the environmental impact of the waste disposal cycle, avoiding or anyway limiting the number and dimensions of landfills, incinerators and other plants intended for waste disposal.

Moreover, the recovery of materials such as plastic, glass, metal and the like results in lower consumption of the raw materials necessary for producing them, thus further reducing the impact on the environment and also the industrial production costs incurred for manufacturing the products obtained from recycled materials.

For these reasons, it is now a well-established practice to carry out waste separation from the very beginning, which is a preparatory step for the following collection and subsequent handling thereof in treatment and/ or disposal and/ or recovery facilities.

Before proceeding any further, it is worth setting out that in this description and in the following claims reference will mostly be made to separate waste collection, in that this practice is very common and will be in the future the most important step of the disposal cycle.

This should not however be understood as a limitation, and the principles of the invention can be extended, mutatis mutandis, also to non-separate waste collection or anyway to other types of waste collection.

In light of the foregoing, separate waste collection is currently carried out at each point of utilization, which may be a family, an office, a commercial (shop, supermarket) or industrial enterprise, where the user privately selects the different types of waste according to the material they are made of (plastic, glass, paper, organic waste, etc.) and puts them into suitable containers or brings them to points of collection (e.g. recycling depots) that may serve individual houses, blocks, districts, or the like.

From there, the waste is then transported to the actual treatment and/or recovery and/ or disposal facilities: this service is normally carried out by means of vans, trucks or anyway suitably equipped means of transport, by personnel of public or private specialized organizations.

The users, i.e. citizens and/ or businesses incur at least a part of the costs of the waste collection and disposal service, through payment of taxes, fees or charges in accordance with criteria defined by the various public administrations.

In most cases, waste collection management follows these general lines; it may however be optimized by applying appropriate measures, which may vary from case to case, for the purpose of reducing the costs or anyway improving the efficiency of the cycle as a whole; this includes, for example, waste which is burnt in incinerators for producing thermal and / or electric energy (cogeneration). Nevertheless, a need is still felt for improving the collection service because, since this activity involves waste, i.e. discarded materials that must be disposed of at a price, it can be easily understood that any contributions that might lead to improved efficiency and/ or lower costs will have a positive impact on the whole management, whatever it is.

For example, one aspect that, to the Applicant's knowledge, can still be improved is the collection of differentiated waste by public or private operators, and the transportation thereof to disposal facilities.

In most cases, in fact, this activity is carried out in shifts at predefined intervals, which may be one week, two weeks, fifteen days, etc., according to the case.

However, it can be easily understood that this is not a flexible way of working, because it does not take into account the actual circumstances that may vary in the course of a year.

By way of example, a first factor that is not adequately taken into account is seasonality; in fact, the types of waste and the quantities thereof may vary during a year, depending on the period: in the summer and in the winter, or in working periods and holiday periods.

Therefore, during a year there may be periods when there is a larger amount of one type of waste than another; for example, paper and glass, or plastic and green waste, whereas in other periods there may be a more regular distribution, and in other periods the total quantity may be higher because of the presence of more people (as is the case in vacation resorts during the holidays).

It is apparent that, if the collection and transportation service is executed rigidly, always in the same way throughout the year, such variables related to service seasonality will not be taken into account.

There may be situations in which the service is oversized for the actual needs, or other situations in which it is insufficient.

In the former case, high transportation costs will be incurred for carrying the waste to the disposal facilities, resulting in economic loss, whereas in the latter case there will be a risk of not being able to remove all the garbage from roads and points of collection, resulting in hygiene and health problems.

Another consequence resulting, though indirectly, from low efficiency in the management of the separate waste collection service is that the costs charged to users and citizens are inevitably imprecise.

In fact, the criteria generally adopted by public administrations in order to establish the rates to be paid do not take into account the actual quantity of waste produced, nor the type thereof.

At most, a distinction is made between private and business users (e.g. factories, sanitary facilities), or in some cases different rates apply to special waste to be subjected to a particular treatment.

Finally, the above-mentioned criteria for waste collection at private user sites are unfit for waste collection at public urban sites, e.g. litter bins in parks, pavements and streets.

In light of this situation, it can be stated that a technical problem that the invention intends to solve is to provide a method of management of separate collection of urban waste, the operative characteristics of which can overcome the above-mentioned limitations of the current state of the art. The idea that solves this problem is to acquire data and/ or information about the waste collected by the users, such as type and quantity, and to send such data and/or information to at least one subject (public or private organization), preferably also dealing with waste collection and transportation, though it may also be a third party, so as to manage the cycle at best.

In accordance with this mode of operation, it is possible to know the quantity of waste that is present at a given time in a given area, so as to be able to decide if, how and when to collect it.

Preferably, the data to be transmitted concern the quantity and type of separated waste to be collected; other information or data may be provided as well (e.g. the place where the waste is located, or the time of collection, etc.).

The above-mentioned technical problem is solved by a method for separate waste collection management, the features of which are set out in the claims appended to this description.

The invention further comprises a system for implementing the above-mentioned method, the features of which are also set out in the following claims.

Such features, as well as the effects and advantages resulting therefrom, will become more apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the annexed drawings supplied by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

Fig. 1 schematically shows a system for separate waste collection management in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a device for waste collection in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 3 shows a variant of the preceding device for waste collection; Fig. 4 is a view, with some parts removed, of another variant of the preceding devices, for waste collection in outdoor environments.

With reference to the above-listed drawings, and in particular to the first figure, numeral 1 designates as a whole a system for separate waste collection according to the invention.

Said system comprises a plurality of devices 2 intended for separate waste collection, which are located at various points of utilization U served by a public or private organization dealing with waste collection.

Preferably, the collection devices are intended for individual houses and/or domestic points of utilization U, but they may also be associated with jointly- owned buildings or a plurality of points of utilization, e.g. those along a street, in a district or in a residential area.

Depending on these applications, the collection device 2 may be of different types and/or sizes, as will become apparent hereinafter; for simplicity and convenience, this description will refer to a device 2 suitable for breaking up or grinding materials such as plastic, paper, cardboard, aluminium, glass and the like, or anyway for reducing them into chips or granules of predefined sizes.

A device 2 of this kind is visible in Figure 6, which comprises an external enclosure 20 in which suitable mechanisms are installed for grinding materials, not shown in the drawings for simplicity's sake; the grinding mechanism 21 is preferably of the type with side-by-side counter-rotating rotors fitted with a plurality of teeth or lobes meshed with each other, so as to break up the material into chips, granules or other particles having a predefined size.

Some examples of rotors suitable for this purpose are described in American patent US 5,921,372 or in American patent application US 2005/0072870, the contents of which is incorporated herein as an integral part of the present description, and to which reference can be made for further details.

In addition, the grinding mechanism 21 also comprises sorting means, e.g. in the form of orientable walls or baffles, arranged downstream of the counter-rotating rotors and above the containers 24, 25, into which the waste falls by gravity.

The sorting means may be activated either manually by the user (e.g. by means of a lever or a handle) or automatically by the mechanism 21, which, as will be further explained below, is a motorized mechanism.

It must however be pointed out that any other suitable grinding mechanism may be used, as far as it is compatible with the following specifications.

In this regard, it is worth observing that the collection device 2 comprises a top loading mouth 22 for loading paper waste (newspapers, magazines, etc.), and a lateral mouth 23 for introducing plastic waste (bottles, jars, containers, etc.).

In its lower part, the collection device 2 comprises containers 24, 25, into which the materials ground by the mechanism 21 are respectively collected, which are thus separated, i.e. paper in the first container 24 and plastic in the second container 25.

It is worth remarking that similar considerations also apply to the case wherein the diversified waste is made of other materials, e.g. glass, aluminium, green waste and the like: in such a case, the shape and/ or dimensions of the collection device 2, of the grinding mechanism 21 and of other components may change, but the present statements should be considered to apply to this cases as well, though subject to any modifications and/ or adaptations that may be necessary. The device 2 further comprises means 26, 27 for sensing the weight of the waste collected in the containers 24, 25; such means may be of any appropriate kind, e.g. load cells arranged under the containers 24, 25, as in the case shown in Figure 6, or strain gauges or other weight-sensing elements or sensors per se known.

The device 2 further comprises a control and/or management unit 30, to which the load cells 26, 27 and any other sensors it is equipped with are connected; The unit 30 is of the electronic type (i.e. it comprises per se known components, such as processors, memories, PCBs, etc.) and is electrically powered, being preferably supplied with normal grid power (possibly through interposition of a transformer and/ or converter, and the like).

The control unit 30 comprises also communication means 31 for remote transmission of information in the form of data; in a preferred embodiment, such communication means are of the electromagnetic type, i.e. without any connection cables (wireless).

In the example illustrated in the drawings, the communication means comprise an antenna 31 suitable for transmission of electromagnetic signals; advantageously, the transmission of the electromagnetic signals occurs in accordance with at least one telecommunications protocol for data transmission. Commercial protocols are preferably used, such as those commonly referred to as Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth ^® , or protocols for direct data transmission over telephone networks; in such a case, the control unit is equipped with a SIM card for telecommunications, which is used for data transmission over telecommunications networks. In this way, the waste collection device 2 can communicate remotely, over a telecommunications network, the data about its own operation.

As far as the connection to the telecommunications network is concerned, the control unit 30 operates in accordance with the type of protocol in use.

Thus, when Bluetooth® is used, for example, it will transmit to another device, such as a mobile phone 55 or another fixed or mobile device, adapted to receive and transmit data, e.g. desktop or laptop computers, tablets and the like.

As an alternative, the control unit 30 may transmit the data over a local network (e.g. LAN, WAN or the like) by using a wireless protocol commonly known as Wi-Fi, through the use of a router apparatus 40.

In the example of Figure 1, the control unit 30 is in communication with the apparatus 40 for signal transmission/ reception, which, in turn, will then transmit the data to the telecommunications network R.

The apparatus 40 is preferably a router of the type commonly used for wireless communications networks (Wi-Fi).

It can connect to the telecommunications network R to remotely transmit the data about the operation of the device 2 to a waste collection management centre 50; the management centre 50 manages the collection in one or more areas, which may be the districts of a city, or the towns in a region, or even distinct cities.

The management centre comprises a number of electronic computers (servers) that process the data coming from the plurality of devices 2 installed at the various points of utilization U: in this way it is possible to know in real time the situation as concerns the waste that is present in houses, schools, offices, etc., so as to be able to decide if and how it should be collected and transported to the disposal facilities.

To this end, the data communicated from the devices 2 to the management centre 50 include the type (plastic, paper, glass, aluminium, etc.) and the quantity (in weight) of the diversified material contained in each device 2; furthermore, according to the case, additional data may be provided, such as the time trend of the waste at one point of utilization, the position of the latter, and so on.

Based on the data transmitted from the devices 2 to the management centre 50, the latter can get a full picture of the situation and process the instructions required by the waste collection and transportation service 51.

As aforesaid, said service 51 is entrusted to public or private organizations that, by using vans, trucks or other suitable means of transport, pick up the diversified waste at the points of collection of the points of utilization U and transport it to the disposal facilities.

The choice of the most suitable means of transport is preferably dictated by the information processed by the management centre 50, which, as aforesaid, has a full picture of the situation in real time and can determine, based on the quantities to be collected, which means of transport is most appropriate (i.e. bigger or smaller).

As aforementioned, in accordance with one possible embodiment of the invention, the control unit 50 of the separate collection device 2 can transmit the data about the waste also to a mobile telecommunications terminal 55; the latter may advantageously be a smartphone 55, or a desktop apparatus like a PC (personal computer), or a portable device such as a laptop, a tablet, etc.

According to one possible embodiment, communication of the data from the control unit 30 to the mobile terminal 55 occurs via the Bluetooth protocol; the mobile terminal 55 will then send the data to the telecommunications network R, thus proceeding as already explained in regard to the operation with the router 40.

It is worth pointing out that, in order to advantageously simplify the operations, the mobile terminal 55 is preferably equipped with a program (a software application, or "app") that allows a user to send the data received from the collection device 2 via the Bluetooth protocol to the management centre 50 over the network R.

As an alternative to or in combination with data transmission via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth® technology, the control unit 30 may also comprise a SIM (Subscriber Identify Module) telecommunications card 33 for data traffic over a mobile telephone network.

In such a case, the card 33 is inserted into an internal seat 34 of the control unit 30, which is equipped with electronic components such as processors, cards, permanent and/ or volatile memories, etc., for transmission of data to the telecommunications network R.

To this end, said transmission may occur through the antenna 31 or another antenna incorporated and/ or integrated into the control unit 30 (not shown in the drawings).

This embodiment of the invention substantially corresponds to what is now commonly called "Internet of things" (IOT): it allows for almost continuous transmission of a data stream to the management centre 50 via the telecommunications network R. This provides, in real time, a full picture of the progress of waste collection.

In light of the above explanation, it is possible to understand how the system 1 for separate waste collection management according to the invention allows solving the underlying technical problem.

In fact, as described, each collection device 2 can send data in real time to the management centre 50, which data relate to the operation of the collection devices 2 at the various points of utilization U, and hence to the progress of waste collection.

In fact, each collection device 2 transmits, via the Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi protocol or the SIM card, the collected quantity of a given type of waste (plastic, paper, glass, etc.); in this respect, it is worth pointing out that the load cells 26, 27 are associated with a respective container 24, 25 intended for the collection of a specific type of waste; therefore, the signal associated with each one of them is acquired as an indicator of a specific type of waste that has been collected, e.g. plastic, paper, aluminium, glass, etc.

It should be noted that the preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the collection device 2 breaks up the waste into predefined particles, permits a considerable reduction in the space occupation of the separated materials that must be picked up by the collection and transportation service 51, which is advantageous for both the point of utilization U, where the crushed material will find room in the containers 24, 25, and the collection service 51, since the weight of the material to be transported is optimized with respect to the occupied volume, resulting in evident economical benefits.

Thus, the management centre 50 has all the data necessary for sending instructions to the collection service 51 for picking up the waste collected at the points of utilization U and transporting it to the disposal facilities.

This allows for targeted collection based on actual needs, thus overcoming all the above-mentioned problems related to collection seasonality.

Furthermore, the possibility of communicating with the management centre 50 via the mobile telecommunications terminal 55 also allows customizing the collection service; in fact, through the mobile terminal it is possible to directly request to the management centre 50 that the waste be collected by the collection service 51 on a given day and at a given time according to particular needs or requirements.

For example, when a predefined waste level is exceeded at a point of utilization U, e.g. a house, a jointly-owned building or a street, it is possible to request the intervention of the collection service 51.

To this end, the latter is preferably operatively connected to the management centre 50 via the telecommunications network R, so that the request from the point of utilization U can be coordinated with other information necessary or useful for this purpose, i.e.: location of the point of utilization U, date and time of collection, type and quantity of waste to be disposed of, etc.

More generally, it can be stated that the method for separate waste collection management according to the invention allows controlling the service in all of its phases, thereby optimizing at best the resources and their use, whether means or personnel.

Other advantageous results are also achieved by the method for waste collection management according to the invention. It can be easily understood that, in fact, due to the data transmitted from the collection devices U to the management centre 50, it is possible to know the exact quantities of waste produced at each point of utilization, so that the collection and disposal costs can be charged proportionally to the quantities produced, rather than according to inaccurate criteria, as is commonly the case today (e.g. house areas or the like).

In other words, the management system of the invention allows the application of rates based on actual, as opposed to estimated, consumption values, resulting in clear advantages for both the users and the collection service operators, i.e. public administrations or private companies.

As a corollary of this situation, the latter can advantageously organize and plan the collection service on the basis of estimates of future waste production, based on a historical analysis of the data generated at each point of utilization U and/ or statistics processed from such data.

Of course, the invention may be subject to a number of variations with respect to the above description.

It is in fact understandable that, depending on the available technologies, the modalities of waste collection and/ or waste separation by the public or private organizations entrusted with the service, the extension of the territory and/ or the number of users, and other factors as well, it will be possible to adopt implementation solutions specially designed for specific requirements.

It has already been mentioned above that different solutions are available for connecting the collection devices 2 to the telecommunications network R (via electromagnetic waves or via cable); also, the devices themselves may have many different shapes or be replaced with alternative solutions, such as the one shown in Figure 7, wherein any parts structurally or functionally equivalent to those already described are identified by the same numerals with the addition of an apostrophe.

This variant represents a simplification of the preceding embodiment, in that it does not provide for waste grinding.

Therefore, the latter is separated by the user into containers 24', 25', which may even be just simple bags, wrappers or the like.

In this case, the device 2' essentially comprises an electronic scale 26' suitable for weighing the container 24' with waste inside of it, which can connect to the telecommunications network R via a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth ® connection or through a SIM card 33', as previously explained.

The same scale 26' may also be equipped with a Bluetooth ® transmission system.

Therefore, the device 2' sends to the management centre 50, via the router 40 and the telecommunications network R, the data about the weight and type (plastic, paper, glass, etc.) of the waste; note that, for this purpose, the device 2' preferably comprises means allowing a user to set the waste type, since the application of a sensor on the scale 26' for waste recognition may be insufficiently effective.

The setting means may consist of a push-button 5' for the selection of the material, i.e. paper, plastic, glass, etc., while the connection to the network may be obtained by means of an antenna integrated into the electronic scale 26' (and hence not visible in Figure 7). It is nevertheless worth pointing out that, in this case as well, the device 2' may also be connected to the telecommunications network via cable (in addition to electromagnetic waves).

The two examples described so far relate to applications of the device of the invention for collecting separated waste at private or domestic points of utilization U or anyway at points of utilization associated with physical persons, whose domicile is known to the organization entrusted with the collection service.

However, these conditions are not always applicable tout court also to the case of public or outdoor-environment collection services, such as collection in urban areas through the use of garbage cans or litter bins or similar containers; let us think, for example, of public parks and gardens or pavements along city streets, where litter bins are located.

In these cases, no well-defined points of utilization or persons are associated with the containers, to which/whom reference can be made for the transmission of collection data; moreover, in urban and extraurban outdoor environments an electrical grid is often unavailable.

The variant shown in Figure 4 of the collection device according to the invention is particularly suitable for these applications; in the drawing, any elements structurally or functionally equivalent to those already shown in Figure 2 have the same numerals: therefore, such elements will not be described any further, save for anything necessary for understanding this example.

Moreover, Figure 4 is a representation of a collection device with the front part and some internal components removed (such as the internal containers 24, 25), so as to leave in sight the details that will be mostly dwelt upon hereinafter.

In light of the foregoing, the collection device or container 2" shown in Figure 4 is particularly intended for installation in public places and/or outdoor environments; to this end, it is equipped with a number of means that allow it to perform some peculiar specific functions.

In fact, while it is still provided with the grinding device 21 with counter-rotating rotors, which breaks up the waste inserted through the top opening 22 and the lateral mouth 23, the device 2 also includes, in addition to the collection containers 24, 25, an electric battery 100 that supplies the power required by some functions.

As aforementioned, in fact, in outdoor environments no electric grid is sometimes available, and therefore, in order to permit the installation of the collection device 2 on streets, in public gardens or in outdoor environments, it must be made autonomous as far as power is concerned.

Among other things, the battery supplies power to the motor that drives the counter-rotating rotors of the grinding mechanism 21; for this reason, it is appropriately sized as a function of the power required by the electric motor of the grinder 21 and also of the capacity of the containers 24, 25. Lithium or lithium-polymer batteries should be preferred, but other types (e.g. lead, nickel metal iodide, nickel cadmium, etc.) may also be used for this purpose.

The motor of the mechanism 21 has a typical power rating in the range of 1-2 kW, while the capacity of the containers 24, 25, where the chips or granules falling from the grinder 21 are collected, may vary according to the application, being preferably at least ten litres. It should however be noted that the present invention is intended for waste bins to be used as parts of the urban decoration; their size is therefore small, approx. 1 metre in width and thickness, and 1.5 metres in height.

The shape may also differ from the one shown in Figure 4; for example, the device 2" may have a generally cylindrical shape or a parallelepiped or pyramidal shape or the like, and also the openings 22, 23 for waste insertion may be located elsewhere (e.g. both on the sides or at the top).

In addition, there may also be containers 2" intended for the collection of single materials, such as paper, plastic, glass, or for generally undifferentiated waste; in such circumstances, a single container 24, 25 may replace the two containers included in the previous example of Figure 2.

This further simplifies the collection device 2" in comparison with the preceding one 2, in that the grinding mechanism 21 may in this case lack any means for sorting the differentiated waste towards either one of the containers 24, 25, i.e. orientable flaps or walls arranged downstream of the counter-rotating rotors.

The battery 100 can be periodically recharged (or replaced) by the operators who come to empty the collection device 2" when it is full; its power and duration suit the use of the device 2", i.e. its waste capacity and the power drawn by the electric motor that drives the grinding mechanism 21.

As an alternative to, or in combination with, the periodic replacement service, the collection device 2" is externally covered with photovoltaic panels 102, which are connected to the battery 100 in order to supply thereto the electric energy necessary for recharging it; Figure 4 shows only one of these panels 102, applied to the sidewall thereof, since the device 2" is shown without the front part (to allow seeing the inside); however, similar photovoltaic panels 102 are applied to all sides of the device 2".

Inside and/ or outside the collection device 2", some components are housed which are operationally connected to the control unit 30; such components include a GPS satellite locator 110 or the like, an accelerometric sensor 111, a so- called electronic nose 112.

The locator 110 permits finding the position of the collection device 2", which may de facto be in any place or urban or extraurban environment; in fact, as already explained, waste collection is of seasonal nature and may change in the course of the year.

Thus, in vacation and holiday resorts, especially at sea, more bins are necessary in the summer season to collect the rubbish left by the people; in order to offer a better service, a larger number of these collection devices 2" may be installed, whereas in winter fewer devices will suffice.

The locator 110 provides information about the exact installation position of each device; since the device 2" is suitable for outdoor applications, satellite location is effective and advantageous (it is in fact known that, when used indoors, GPS systems may encounter difficulties resulting in limited operability).

The position information is transmitted, directly and/ or via the control unit 30, to the collection management centre 50, along with the readings of the accelerometric sensors 111 and those of the electric nose 112.

As is known, in fact, in the hot season strong smells and exhalations, even noxious ones, may be generated from decomposition or fermentation of organic waste; in order to limit these situations, waste bins must be removed and emptied more frequently.

The electronic nose 112 is an electronic device (cf. https:/ /it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naso-elettronico) that can detect the presence of substances in the air, wherein such substances can be set into the device itself. It must however be underlined that the electronic nose 112 is not only capable of detecting evil-smelling exhalations generated from waste, since it can also detect combustion fumes, should the collection device 2" catch fire.

This information is remotely transmitted by the unit 30 to the management centre 50 in order to provide for removing the waste from the device 2 involved or anyway for carrying out any intervention that may be deemed necessary.

It must also be pointed out that, when appropriately set up, the electronic nose 112 can also detect the presence of any explosive substances within the device 2", thus further increasing the level of safety, specific for the waste collection activity.

It is known, in fact, that waste bins have been used in the past for installing incendiary or explosive devices in order to carry out terrorist attacks or actions.

In the example considered herein, the information acquired by the electronic nose 112 and the locator 110 are integrated with the information provided by the accelerometric sensor 111, which allows detecting the operating condition of the collection device 2" , i.e. whether it is in the upright position relative to the support plane P whereon it has been installed (i.e. a pavement, a street, a lawn, a flower-bed or any other appropriate surface) or it has been overturned on the ground.

As can be understood from the above explanation, this implementation variant of the collection device according to the invention is particularly suitable for outdoor application.

As a matter of fact, as far as the operation of the grinding mechanism 21 is concerned, according to which the waste is reduced into chips, granules or anyway small pieces by the counter-rotating rotors and is then collected by gravity into the containers 24, 25, the device 2" operates just like the one shown in Figure 2, thus attaining the same advantageous results already described. However, the presence of components such as the electric battery 100, the photovoltaic panels 102 and especially the satellite locator 110, plus the electronic nose 112, not only enhance the functionalities of the collection device Ύ itself, but also promote the provision of a capillary waste collection service in urban and / or extraurban areas that is sustainable from an economical viewpoint.

In fact, when the waste is introduced through the openings 22, 23 (i.e. plastic, paper, etc.), it is ground and collected in small pieces into the containers 24, 25; note that this is already enough to collect a much greater quantity of material, the volume capacity being equal to that of normal garbage cans or litter bins in urban areas.

In fact, people throw away rubbish like small bottles, paper, cans or the like just as they are, i.e. without reducing their volume by squeezing or breaking them up; this inevitably results in quick filling of the bins.

By breaking up the waste through the grinding mechanism 21, it is possible to reduce it to smaller pieces, thus fully exploiting the capacity of the containers 24, 25; in ordinary operating conditions, due to this fact alone the bins can be emptied less frequently. The load cells 26, 27 allow knowing the quantity of waste collected in each device 2", so that the management service 50 can carry out a targeted collection according to the actual filling condition of each device 2"; for this reason, the information supplied by the satellite locator 110 is very useful, because it allows locating each device 2" in a precise manner.

As aforesaid, the position of the latter is not known a priori because they may be installed in different places, depending on seasonal or contingent collection requirements; this is the case, for example, of public events attended by many people, such as sport competitions (stadiums, or cycling, running or car races, etc.), artistic performances (outdoor concerts or plays, etc.), and the like.

The collection service 50 can thus carry out the service for maintaining and emptying the collection devices 2" in a targeted manner and, de facto, at any instant.

This contributes to improving the efficiency of the service, while reducing the means and resources required for service management, as well as the costs thereof.

The collection service can therefore be carried out in a flexible manner, based on the actual operating conditions of the devices 2" , which may be emptied not only when they are full, but also whenever required by the environmental or operating conditions.

The presence of the electronic nose 112, in addition to the accelerometric sensor 111, is very useful in this respect because, as aforesaid, the presence of noxious or anyway unpleasant exhalations generated by the waste is detected by the devices 2" and notified to the management centre 50, which can then take appropriate actions.

All of these features and variants will still fall within the scope of the following claims.