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How digital tools can help cities cut waste costs
Report shows that digitalisation is not only about tech but using better data to make waste systems more reliable, transparent, and financially sustainable.
At a glance
Who: World Bank Group; IFC; Eunomia Research and Consulting.
What: World Bank Group has published the report, Waste, Reimagined: Practical Guidance for Digitalising Waste Management.
Why: It highlights how waste systems are under growing pressure with the cost of inaction estimated at $361bn annually in health and environmental impacts from uncollected waste, open dumping, and burning.
Where: The report reveals global findings and case studies from around the world.
Municipalities and waste management companies can use digital tools to improve service reliability, reduce operating costs, strengthen recycling systems, and make better investment decisions, a new report suggests.
According to the World Bank Group report, Waste, Reimagined: Practical Guidance for Digitalising Waste Management, waste systems are under growing pressure with the cost of inaction estimated at $361bn annually in health and environmental impacts from uncollected waste, open dumping, and burning.
Lower-income countries
Global municipal solid waste is expected to rise by 50 per cent by 2050, from 2.6 billion tonnes in 2022 to 3.9 billion tonnes. In lower-income countries, waste volumes are expected to more than double, and in some regions triple.
The report sets out to demonstrate that digitalisation is not only about technology. It is about using better data to make waste systems more reliable, transparent, and financially sustainable. Digital tools can help cities and operators:
- Optimise collection routes and reduce fuel use
- Improve billing and fee collection
- Track service delivery in real time
- Increase citizen participation in recycling
- Improve sorting, recovery, and material quality
- Support circular economy goals through better transparency and traceability.
The report provides practical guidance for municipalities and waste companies on how to select and implement digital tools. It focuses on four areas:
- Citizen and business engagement, including apps, messaging tools, incentives, and feedback systems
- Collection and logistics, including GPS tracking, route optimisation, telematics, and smart bins
- Treatment and facility management, including AI sorting, sensors, real-time reporting, and predictive maintenance
- Digital platforms and marketplaces, including billing systems, traceability tools, and secondary-material trading platforms.
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The report also includes case studies from different regions that show how digital tools can deliver measurable results:
In Cambodia, Battambang used digital billing, mobile payments, and GPS tracking to improve waste collection. Service coverage increased from about 40 per cent of households to 75- to 80 per cent, helping the city improve reliability and revenue collection.
In the Republic of Korea, Seoul used RFID-based food waste charging and tested IoT smart bins. Food waste recycling rose from about 2 per cent in the 1990s to around 98 per cent by 2023. The smart bins pilot helped reduce collection frequency by 66 per cent and lower collection costs by 83 per cent.
In lower-income countries, waste volumes are expected to more than double, and in some regions triple
In Tunisia, route analytics and telematics in Cité el Habib, Sfax, helped reduce fuel use by up to 57 per cent and collection time by up to 29- to 48 per cent.
In Benin, Cotonou used GPS tracking for collection vehicles to improve route compliance and reduce missed pickups. The system supported a roughly 9 per cent increase in annual waste collection, from 430,000 tonnes to 470,000 tonnes, while reducing landfill trips by about 500.
In Spain, Barcelona shows how long-term digital investment can modernise complex urban waste systems. Integrated platforms, RFID-enabled smart bins, pneumatic collection, and performance-based contracts have strengthened service monitoring, contractor oversight, and operational efficiency. Solar-powered self-compacting bins reduced emptying costs by eight times compared with traditional bins.
Waste, Reimagined: Practical Guidance for Digitalising Waste Management was developed by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Eunomia Research and Consulting, with support from the governments of Korea, Japan, and Switzerland.
BarcelonaConnectivity & DataDataData marketplace/PlatformEnergy & EnvironmentlogisticsmobilityRoadSensorsSeoulsmart wastewaste
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