# Modern Technologies for Waste Management: A Review
## 2 Overview of Technologies
### Software in Waste Management  
Thanks to digitalization, we have the possibility to automate processes using software, including waste management. There is a broad spectrum of software concerning different target end-users. A great example of software in waste management is Artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) [59]. It is not directly accessed by the end-user, or rather it automates manual labor conducted by them using sensors and electromechanical parts interacting with the physical world (see Sections 3.1 and 3.2 for more details). In this section, software supporting only specific fields, such as mechanical design or logistics, will not be taken into consideration. [PERSON] et al. have compared waste disposal software popular in Russia and Europe. The researchers have found that the focus of the studied software is mainly on logistics, calculation of the cost of disposal, choice of landfill, and simple interface [60]. [PERSON] et al. [61] have gathered a sample size of n = 52 for all software, deconstructed it into sub-categories, and compared their features. An overview has shown that 40 samples can be categorized as \"waste-management\" in general, 30 as \"recycling\", 7 as \"manufacturing\" and 10 as \"disassembly\". This study has found software lacking features across various waste-related sub-domains. In addition, a part of the software studied has not been updated for at least 12 months preceding this study [61]. The Internet nowadays is also used as a tool for influencing ecological consciousness and helps with waste via mobile, internet, and desktop applications (Table 1). The Global Connectivity Report 2022 shows that 95% of the population is covered by broadband network (3G or recent) and 63% is using the Internet as of 2021 [62]. Applications made for a casual consumer range from ordering small packages of food that might be thrown out by your local companies, such as bakeries, cafes, and grocery shops, to pointing out illegal wastes in your neighborhood, affecting dozens of people and the ecosystem. Albeit the multiplicity of waste recycling applications available, [PERSON] et al. [63] argue that the applications that they studied do not ensure a real engagement of end-users due to many factors, i.e., a lack of user-centered design. The authors provided a set of requirements on which they based the prototype later:  
* Availability of an updated waste-collection calendar, indicating which type of waste is collected during each day of the week. * Possibility to receive reminders with relevant collection information the day before or even during the same day. * Access to a recycling guide, to support them during the recycling process, providing relevant information in a clear and accessible way. * Possibility to locate waste bins near a specific place or location, together with the possibility to receive the corresponding walking directions. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Purpose** & **Type (Mobile, Website)** & **Name** \\ \hline Reducing food loss and waste. & Mobile & Too Good To Go \\ Finding recycling locations (US only). & Website & Recyclation \\ Creating database of illegal waste clumps and removals of them based & Mobile & TrashOut \\ on community reports. & Website & Supercook \\ Generating recipes from selected products. & Mobile & Recycle Coach \\ Recycling education platform & Mobile & Ecolife \\ Recipes for ecological cleaning products and tips on recycling. & Mobile & Refill \\ An application enabling users to easily find water refill stations for & Mobile & Refill \\ their reusable bottles. & \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Popular available mobile and internet consumer applications for waste management. * Possibility to locate nearby drop-off locations and have access to relevant information such as opening hours, provided services, and associated costs [63]. [PERSON] et al.