Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Design, implementation, and evaluation of an Internet of Things (IoT)

network system for restaurant food waste management
Zongguo Wen a,b,⇑, Shuhan Hu a,b, Djavan De Clercq a,b, M. Bruce Beck c, Hua Zhang d, Huanan Zhang a,b,
Fan Fei a,b, Jianguo Liu a,b
a
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
b
Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety (Tsinghua University), Ministry of Education of China, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
c
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BU, UK
d
School of Humanities and Economic Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Catering companies around the world generate tremendous amounts of waste; those in China are no
Available online xxxx exception. The paper discusses the design, implementation, and evaluation of a sensor-based Internet
of Things (IoT) network technology for improving the management of restaurant food waste (RFW) in
Keywords: the city of Suzhou, China. This IoT-based system encompasses the generation, collection, transportation
Restaurant food waste and final disposal of RFW. The Suzhou case study comprised four steps: (1) examination of the required
Internet of Things functionality of an IoT-enabled system in the specific context of Suzhou; (2) configuration of the system
RFID
architecture, both software and hardware components, according to the identified functionality; (3)
Sensors
installation of the components of the IoT system at the facilities of the stakeholders across the RFW gen
eration-collection-transportation-disposal value chain; and (4) evaluation of the performance of the
entire system, based on data from three years of operation. The results show that the system had a strong
impact. Positive results include: (1) better management of RFW generation, as evidenced by a 20.5%
increase in RFW collected via official channels and a 207% increase in the number of RFW generators
under official contract; (2) better law enforcement in response to RFW malpractice, enabled by the mon-
itoring capabilities of the IoT system; and (3) an overall reduction in illicit RFW activities and better pro-
cess optimization across the RFW value chain. Negative results include: (1) Radio-frequency
identification (RFID) tags need to be renewed often due to the frequent handling of waste bins, thus
increasing operating costs; (2) dynamic/automatic weight sensors had a higher degree of error than
the more time-consuming static/manual weighing method; and (3) there were disagreements between
the city’s government agencies about how to interpret data from the IoT system, which led to some inef-
ficiencies in management. In sum, the Suzhou IoT system enabled data-driven management of RFW and
had a net positive impact for the stakeholders involved.
Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction
Catering companies around the world generate tremendous
amounts of waste, not only of food, but also of paper, plastics, met-
als, wood, cardboard, and hazardous materials. ‘‘Restaurant food
waste (RFW)”, the focus of our research, is produced by the cater-
ing industry and is composed of two segments: (1) food residue
⇑ Corresponding author at: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation
and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084,
China.
E-mail address: wenzg@tsinghua.edu.cn (Z. Wen).
generated from commercial dining tables and kitchens; and (2)
grease collected from oil-water separators and grease traps. In
China, for instance, about 40 million tons of RFW were produced
in 2014, accounting for 50% of all food waste that year (Wen
et al., 2015). In Germany, 18 million tons of food waste are pro-
duced annually, with a significant fraction coming from restau-
rants (Pleissner et al., 2017). Such quantities of waste can lead to
significant costs. In the United Kingdom, food waste represents a
cost to the catering sector alone of 682 million GBP (WRAP,
2015). Due to its high organic matter and moisture content, RFW
is rich in nutrients and can be an important source of organic fer-
tilizer and bioenergy after proper treatment. On the other hand,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
0956-053X/Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article in press as: Wen, Z., et al. Design, implementation, and evaluation of an Internet of Things (IoT) network system for restaurant food
waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
2 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
treating RFW improperly can lead to serious food safety and envi-
ronmental problems. These include: harm to public health as a
result of strong odors, pathogenic microbes, and mycin from rotten
RFW; sewer blockages due to directly discharged RFW; groundwa-
ter pollution, soil pollution, and methane emissions from RFW dis-
posed of in landfills (Yang et al., 2013); and the spread of disease
and threats to human health as a consequence of directly feeding
untreated RFW to livestock.
In response to rapidly increasing amounts of RFW, numerous
policies and laws have been implemented in countries around
the world to promote the integrated utilization of such waste (De
Clercq et al., 2016, 2017). While such policies are encouraging, fur-
ther work is required to enhance RFW management. Turning RFW
into useable and commercial resources requires coordination
across the value chain, including generation, collection, transporta-
tion, disposal, and utilization. Management frameworks must take
into account multiple stakeholder interests, such as those of cater-
ing companies, collection and transportation service providers, and
disposal service providers.
In China, there are two traditional ways to treat RFW. The first
involves selling RFW to illegal third-parties, who manufacture low-
quality ‘‘gutter oil” (re-processed cooking oil) or pig feed. This pre-
sents significant food safety risks. The second traditional scheme
involves collection of RFW mixed with other waste, which compli-
cates subsequent treatment and leads to environmental problems
(Pei, 2014). In addition, secondary pollution from the traditional
method of collection and transportation is significant. In order to
alleviate problems associated with traditional treatment methods,
the Central Government issued a policy notice on ‘‘Organized
Development of Municipal Food Waste Resource Utilization and
Safe Disposal Pilot Projects”. This has led to the ratification of
100 ‘‘pilot cities” where pilot-scale RFW treatment projects are to
be constructed. Under the 12th Five Year Plan, 242 projects were
slated to be built across these pilot cities (De Clercq et al., 2017).
Anaerobic digestion is the principal technology being imple-
mented, given the positive environmental effects and the output
of valuable products associated with this mature technology
(Franchetti 2013; Jin et al., 2015; Xu et al., 2015; Zhang et al.,
2014; Vandermeersch et al., 2014; Villarroel Walker and Beck,
2014; Bernstad and la Cour Jansen, 2011). The economic potential
of anaerobic digestion for nutrient-resource recovery from urban
and agricultural wastes is, in fact, quite impressive (Villarroel
Walker and Beck, 2014).
Despite these attempts to enhance RFW management in China,
many issues persist. One significant problem is that the flow of
RFW is difficult to control, so that the illegal trade and informal
treatment of RFW is still very extensive in China. In addition to
the aforementioned food safety and environmental problems, this
also leads to under-capacity in respect of formal and legal treat-
ment plants, which results in higher unit costs for these official
RFW treatment paths. For instance, De Clercq et al. (2016) found
that one major project in Beijing could only attain 27% of its
designed capacity because of upstream waste collection problems.
One of the main reasons for such persistent problems is the lack of
effective supervision in the existing RFW management system.
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to network technology which
permits sensor-based information exchange between objects. The
technology offers significant advantages in terms of traceability,
adaptability, real-time monitoring, and more (ITU, 2005; EPoSS,
2008; Atzori et al., 2010). Given these technological advantages,
IoT opens up opportunities for alleviating the difficulties cited
above and enhancing the management of RFW. IoT applications
to the food supply chain and food waste have accordingly been
gaining more attention in recent years, although research on
applications to RFW in particular is notably lacking. The innovative
Please cite this article in press as: Wen, Z., et al. Design, implementation, and evaluation of an Internet of Things (IoT) network system for restaurant food
waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
contribution of this article is thus the application of IoT to RFW
management via a large-scale case study in an important
metropolitan region.
Wang and Yue (2017) developed an IoT-supported infrastruc-
ture framework that provides an early warning system for food
safety risks across the food supply chain. Nychas et al. (2016) have
also explored the potential of using information technology across
the food chain, including cloud computing and IoT, primarily for
food safety management. Regarding food waste, Hong et al.
(2014) proposed an IoT-based smart garbage system (SGS) to
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a ‘‘Pay as You Throw”
management scheme in South Korea. They implemented it as a
pilot project in the Gangnam district, Seoul, for a one-year period.
The experiment shows that the SGS, along with the adaptive user-
oriented policy, results in not only food waste reduction of about
33%, but also energy savings of 16%.
In the United States, IoT systems (such as Grind2Energy) are
enabling disposal service providers to identify wasteful habits
and fix equipment before it breaks. This is expected to result in a
reduction of tipping fees associated with composting or more tra-
ditional forms of food waste disposal. It also enables food waste
collection bins to be proactively emptied according to fill level,
rather than at pre-arranged collection times, in order to reduce
time delays and manual interventions. In addition, some compa-
nies in the USA are using IoT to reduce the amount of water and
electricity required to break down organic materials in food waste
during the oxidative conversion process (Clancy, 2017).
China began to explore applications of IoT in RFW management
around 2010. Focusing on disposal sites, the Shanghai municipality
has developed a real-time RFW monitoring system by using RFID
technology and database management (Guo et al., 2013). In addi-
tion, Taking Yichang City in Hubei province as an example of small
and mid-sized cities, an innovative ‘‘grid” management method
based on IoT technology has been adopted. The local government
established a five-level management system, vertically segmented
by ‘‘city level”, ‘‘district level”, ‘‘sub-district level”, ‘‘community
level” and ‘‘grid level”. The manager of each grid was equipped
with IoT devices for real-time acquisition and transmission of
information regarding food waste generation and collection. Mea-
surements collected included time, weight, position, and more
(Shu et al., 2013).
Most of the existing literature only briefly introduces ideas per-
taining to system design, and most studies focus on just one of the
stakeholders in the RFW management chain, as shown in Table 1.
The shortage of rigorous methodology coupled with effective pro-
cess implementation and subsequent performance evaluation, is
evident from Table 1. Detailed discussion of RFW management
policies is also lacking in the literature. As a result, this paper rep-
resents an innovative and valuable contribution to the expanding
literature on food waste management. In the face of China’s
mounting food waste challenge, this type of research is especially
timely.
In contrast, therefore, our research has developed an IoT-based
RFW management system that encompasses the entire process:
from RFW generation, through collection and transportation, and
on to final disposal. This system has been operating as a pilot pro-
gram in Suzhou City since 2012. After several years of operation,
the results show that the system has significantly strengthened
RFW management, improved enforcement of RFW management
regulations, and formalized the entire RFW treatment process.
The IoT-based system extended and upgraded the traditional
low-tech method of RFW management, and enabled data-driven
management of RFW. Operational limits of the system were also
identified; and recommendations have been provided (and imple-
mented) to enhance its overall effectiveness.
 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 3

Table 1
IoT applications in food waste management.

Literature District Involved stakeholder Phase of concern Comment

Hong et al. (2014) Gangnam district, Residents who discharge food waste; Generation and Detailed presentation of architecture,
Seoul, South Korea transportation and disposal service collection phase the discharge system, the main
providers; and local government techniques, implementation and
operation results
Clancy (2017) North Atlantic region of Supermarkets, casinos, and hospitality Collection and Introduction of design concept
the U.S. firms who have food waste; food waste disposal phase
disposal service provider
Guo et al. (2013) Shanghai Municipality RFW disposal service provider; local Disposal phase Brief introduction of concept of system
government design
Shu et al. (2013) Yichang City in Hubei Residents, restaurants and cafeterias who Generation and Brief introduction of concept of system
province discharge food waste; manager of each collection phase design
grid; and local government

2. Background and motivation Table 2

Responsibilities of stakeholders associated with RFW based on ‘‘Regulations for RFW
Suzhou City, which is one of China’s first ‘‘Municipal Food Management in Suzhou City”.

Waste Resource Utilization and Safe Disposal Pilot Cities”, has been Stakeholders Responsibilities
chosen as a demonstration site for this research. The research Catering company (i.e. RFW & Separate RFW from other waste and
group of Tsinghua University’s Research Center for Industry of Cir- generator) ensure daily waste clearance (Penalty for
cular Economy (CICE) has engaged in research on RFW manage- offenders)
ment problems based on pilot projects since 2006 in this region & Install standardized RFW collection
facilities
(Wen et al., 2015, 2016).
& Do not randomly litter RFW (Penalty for
offenders)
2.1. The status quo of RFW generation and treatment in Suzhou City & Report to the government for record-keep-
ing if independently collecting, transport-
ing, and disposing of RFW
Suzhou City is located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in & Only consign the collection, transporta-
China. It is one of the most economically developed regions in tion, and disposal process to service provi-
China. Its GDP was 145 billion Yuan in 2015, ranking 7th in China ders with a license
that year. The average economic growth rate was 13.6% from 1979 & Report to the government for record-keep-
ing while signing the contract and provide
to 2015, according to public data from the Suzhou Statistical
contracts while going through annual ver-
Yearbook 2016. ification or other formalities
Due to such rapid economic development, Suzhou’s catering RFW collection and & Determined through fair competition such
industry is also growing quickly. Consequently, the city generates transportation service as bidding, and granted a license by the
provider administrative department of environment
a huge amount of RFW every day. Based on a sample from the city’s
and sanitation
catering industry in 2007, it was determined that Suzhou City pro- & Implement airtight transportation with the
duces approximately 650 tons of food waste per day (with an oil sign of RFW on containers and facilities,
content of 10–15%). However, the status of RFW management while keeping containers clean and intact,
was very poor before the implementation of an official manage- with no dropping or leakage in the whole
process.
ment system. The sample survey shows that approximately 60%
& Types and quantity of the RFW being col-
of the catering industry’s waste went towards feeding pigs or lected and transported should be con-
towards the illegal production of ‘‘gutter oil” (re-processed cooking firmed by the food producers as well as
oil), with the remainder being treated together with other Munic- the disposal service provider
& Provide ledgers to ensure the authenticity
ipal Solid Waste (MSW) and ending up in landfills and incinerators
of data and report to the government
(Hu and He, 2012). monthly on the types and quantity of
RFW (Penalty for offenders)
2.2. RFW management regulations implemented by the Suzhou RFW disposal service & Determined through fair competition such
provider as bidding and granted license by the
municipal government
administrative department of environment
and sanitation
To strengthen RFW management, the Suzhou Municipal & Maintain the environment and sanitation
Government has been developing regulations and measures since system around disposal sites, and adopt
2006. At the end of 2009, the city government announced the ‘‘Reg- efficient pollution prevention measures
together with safety control measures
ulations for RFW Management in Suzhou City” with the support of according to relevant policies.
Tsinghua University. This notice clearly stipulated the responsibil- & Operate disposal facilities in a steady and
ities of stakeholders associated with RFW, including catering com- stable manner and report to the govern-
panies (i.e. RFW generators), RFW collection and transportation ment in advance if in need of shut-down
overhauling (Penalty for offenders)
service providers, and RFW disposal service providers. Details are
& Provide ledgers to ensure the authenticity
provided in Table 2. of data and report to the government
In addition to these rules, the Suzhou government initiated an monthly on the types and quantity of
‘‘RFW collection-transportation-disposal integrated operating RFW (Penalty for offenders)
scheme” to coordinate implementation of the regulations. Under & No processing of abandoned cooking oil for
use or sale and no direct use of RFW as for-
this management scheme, the collection, transportation, and dis- age without hazard-free treatment
posal of RFW is entrusted to an integrated disposal company under

Please cite this article in press as: Wen, Z., et al. Design, implementation, and evaluation of an Internet of Things (IoT) network system for restaurant food
waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
4 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract. Within this framework,
catering companies must contract a government-approved com-
pany for RFW handling under the government’s supervision. In
the pilot phase, catering companies provide their food waste to
the integrated disposal company free of charge, and the govern-
ment provides subsidies for collection and transportation to the
integrated company according to the quantity of RFW treated
(He et al., 2010; Zhang et al., 2015). This model aims to: (1) incen-
tivize regulated/official collection and transportation; (2) enhance
the quality of collected RFW by allowing the disposal company to
guide catering companies to comply with disposal requirements;
and (3) improve overall supervision efficiency.
2.3. Status of the Suzhou RFW management system without IoT
Without strong IoT-enabled IT systems in place, Suzhou’s RFW
management suffered from multiple inefficiencies. Before the
online real-time monitoring system was implemented in 2012,
the government managed Suzhou City’s RFW in the following way:
1. When RFW was being collected from catering companies, the
RFW generator would have to swipe an ID card manually for
identification.
2. The RFW collection trucks did not weigh the amount of RFW at
the collection site. Instead, the weight of RFW in the truck was
only measured at the final disposal site and subsidies were pro-
vided simply according to the value of this weight, which was
reported to the government by the disposal company itself
and checked by the government on a random basis.
3. There was no monitoring of the collection and transportation
process.
4. There was no monitoring of the quantity or quality of products
derived from RFW disposal and energy conversion; moreover,
there was no real-time monitoring of pollutant emissions asso-
ciated with the disposal process.
This management framework resulted in multiple problems:
Problem 1: The RFW generation source was difficult to super-
vise due to the inconvenience of the traditional ID card identifica-
tion and the absence of real-time, on-site weighing during
collection. Since the amount of RFW collected from each catering
company was not clear, the government had no way to discern
whether a catering company might be selling RFW waste via illegal
channels for pig feed or gutter oil.
Problem 2: Illegal activity, such as the watering down of RFW,
happened frequently despite government prohibition. Without
real-time monitoring of RFW input into collection trucks, there
was no way of verifying whether the collected RFW was diluted
with water for increased weight in order to receive higher
subsidies.
Problem 3: Without an IoT-enabled system, optimization of the
RFW collection and transportation process was problematic. The
absence of location monitoring of waste collection trucks led to
the inability to (1) track whether collection trucks were following
designated routes and (2) optimize collection routes and truck
allocation based on changing circumstances. Moreover, a lack of
real-time monitoring of collection and transportation operations
resulted in the inability to identify and correct secondary pollution
sources such as leaking truck bodies and RFW spills during the col-
lection and transportation process.
Problem 4: It was difficult to identify unregulated emissions
during disposal and rigorously manage the products derived from
RFW treatment. During the RFW disposal process, there was no
monitoring of the production of outputs such as biogas and biodie-
sel, which meant that there were fewer opportunities to optimize
the disposal process and no basic data to identify the illegal
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waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
dumping of RFW. Moreover, there was no monitoring of emissions
from the disposal service provider, which meant that the disposal
provider could easily disregard emissions standards.
3. Design methodology of the IoT-based RFW management
system
Together with a team of engineers, the authors developed an
IoT-based system covering the entire RFW collection-transporta
tion-disposal process in order to enhance the Suzhou City govern-
ment’s capacity to manage this vital urban system effectively. The
details of the system are presented in detail below.
3.1. Requirements analysis
According to ‘‘the regulations for RFW management in Suzhou
City” (as shown in Table 2), RFW is required to be collected, trans-
ported and treated/processed legally, in a human-safe and environ-
mentally harmless way. In addition, the three categories of
stakeholders (the RFW generator, the collection and transportation
service provider, and the disposal service provider) are required to
provide corresponding proof of the legality of their conduct. The
requirements of the stakeholders and the interactions among them
are as shown in Fig. 1. In order to verify the legality of the RFW
management, and to improve overall management efficiency, the
IoT-based system had to be capable therefore of encompassing
the entire collection-transportation-disposal process train. The
required features of the IoT-enabled system are accordingly:
1. Supervision of catering companies, including automatic iden-
tification (RFW is usually collected at the close of business, so
that automatic identification is needed) and real-time monitor-
ing of the RFW amount delivered by catering companies.
2. Supervision of RFW collection trucks, including real-time
supervision of the mass of RFW collected and transported by
trucks, real-time supervision of the collection and transporta-
tion route/conduct, and dynamic allocation of collection trucks.
3. Supervision of the disposal site, including real-time monitor-
ing of the amount of RFW entering the site, the products made,
and the pollutant emissions in the disposal process.
3.2. System architecture design
Following the requirements analysis, we designed the IoT-based
system as shown in Fig. 2, which includes hardware and software
design elements.
First, regarding hardware design, RFID technology is used to
acquire information about the RFW generator (i.e., the catering
companies) to avoid the inconvenience of the previously existing
method of swiping an ID card. Compared with the ID card, the
advantages of using RFID tags are at least the following: (1) auto-
matic identification can be achieved at any time, which saves both
time and labor; and (2) the storage of greater volumes of informa-
tion is possible (Kaur et al., 2011). In order to solve the problem of
uncertainty regarding the RFW-generating source, vehicle-
weighing sensors acquire data on the amounts of RFW collected
from each trash bin, which is combined with an RFID tag attached
to that bin. Surveillance cameras acquire real-time video informa-
tion on RFW collection and transportation operations in order to
monitor for secondary pollution and subsidy fraud. GPS technology
is used to acquire real-time location information about collection
trucks in order to monitor their travel routes and provide feedback
for dynamic truck allocation and route adjustment. With respect to
the problem of large amounts of data generated at the same time, a
vehicle on-board controller allows for real-time acquisition, pack-
aging, and transmission of the data and information from all the
 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 5

● Alleviate secondary pollution

● Track RFW flows
● Provide subsidies correctly

Government

Su
Ledgers and report

bs
Le

id
dg

y
rt

fo
ers
po

rc
Re

an

ol
lec
dr
ep

tio
or

Catering company
● Convenient delivery
● Provide proof of the
legality of delivery
n
t
RFW collection RFW RFW disposal
RFW and transportation
service provider
service provider Collection fee
● Verify collection amount
● Optimize task
● Control collection cost
arrangements
● Refine management of
● Provide proof of the
product
legality of collection
and transportation ● Provide proof of the
legality of disposal

Legend: Stakeholder ● Requirement Material flow Information flow Money flow

Fig. 1. Requirements of RFW stakeholders and interactions among them under Suzhou’s management scheme.

on-board sensing devices. These data are then sent to a background
server via a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) module. An Inte-
grated Circuit (IC) card reader identifies the collection truck as it
enters the disposal site. A weighbridge with an industrial personal
computer (IPC) acquires data on the RFW amount in each truck,
combined with an Integrated Circuit (IC) card reader for truck iden-
tification, hence to monitor the RFW amount in real time and com-
pare it with the RFW collected at the collection site. In addition, the
products and pollutant emissions generated in the disposal process
are monitored in real time.
Second, in respect of software design, a management platform
based on the hardware system has been developed to allow real-
time data visualization, statistical analyses, queries, analytical pro-
cessing, local surveillance, and warnings of process bottlenecks,
thus to realize on-line management and provide a comprehensive
auxiliary information support system for decision-makers.
3.3. Integrated application of IoT technologies and devices
To summarize, various IoT technologies have been incorporated
into the facilities operated by the various stakeholders engaged in
the entire RFW handling train, from generation, through collection
and transportation, to disposal.
3.3.1. Application to facilities operated by the RFW generator
To upgrade the identification system of the RFW generator, a
unique RFID tag was fitted to every trash bin of the catering com-
panies under contract. The tag records information such as the
name, address, and turnover of the catering company as well as
the weight, capacity, and number of the bins. This information is
read automatically by an RFID reader installed in the collection
truck and sent in real time to the vehicle on-board controller,
together with the collection time and the weight of collected
RFW. The process and architecture of tag-issuing is as shown in
Fig. 3. The Suzhou Environmental Sanitation and Administration
Agency, the supervisor of RFW disposal and the responsible party
for allocating subsidies, is responsible for issuing the tag and
managing the database server.
Compared to the old method of just showing an ID card, the
advantage of using trash bins with RFID tags is that the amount
of RFW collected can be automatically linked with the generator
in real time. This helps to discern whether the food waste of a
catering company is being sold via illegal channels and can, in
addition, facilitate the prediction of RFW collection amounts in
the near future.
3.3.2. Application to the collection and transportation service provider
This system employs a smart truck fitted with an integrated
RFID reader, a video surveillance camera, a weight sensor, a GPS
module, a GPRS module and a vehicle on-board controller, as
shown in Fig. 4. We followed the smart trucks and manually
recorded the video files of the collection process by camera as
shown in Fig. 5.
Based on the video surveillance camera, operations during col-
lection and transportation are supervised in real time. This means
that the supervisor can quickly address secondary pollution caused
by leaking truck bodies and RFW spills during collection and
transportation.
Using the weight sensor, the RFW in the trash bin is weighed
(in kg) and this measurement sent to the server automatically in
real time. This is crucial. It allows the government to compare
the weight of the RFW input into the collection truck with its

Please cite this article in press as: Wen, Z., et al. Design, implementation, and evaluation of an Internet of Things (IoT) network system for restaurant food
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6 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Generation Collection and transportation Disposal

Convenient Real-time monitoring of the RFW Real-time monitoring of the RFW
identification amount at each collection site amount in each truck at disposal site and
Real-time Supervising the collection and comparing with the data at the collection
monitoring of the transportation operations site
RFW amount Real-time monitoring of transportation Real-time monitoring of the amount of
delivered route and dynamic allocation of trucks pollution emission and the main products

Monitors of wastewater, solid

biodiesel, biogas and organic

Smart collection trucks

Weigh-bridge with IPC

Qualifiers with IPC of

waste and waste gas
IC card reader
Video surveillance

fertilizer
Vehicle on-board
Vehicular weight
Integrated RFID

GPRS module
GPS module

controllor

Garbage bin IC card

camera
sensor
reader

fitted with
RIFD tags

Management Platform of Commercial Food Waste

Real-time data Statistics and Analytical Local Abnormality Process

demonstration queries processing surveillance warning procedure

Fig. 2. Overall architecture of the IoT-based system for RFW in Suzhou.

RFID Issuing card

Computer Database server
tag machine

Fig. 3. Process and architecture of tag-issuing for the RFW bins.

weight upon arrival at the disposal company, hence to verify the control center, where it is duly supervised. This not only helps
whether the RFW has been illegally diluted during transportation to judge whether collection trucks are following designated routes,
to obtain higher subsidies. These departure and arrival weights but also provides valuable inputs for dynamic truck allocation and
should be within 5% of each other, i.e., a 5% margin of error is route adjustment in case of emergencies (such as truck break-
tolerated. Fig. 6 shows the truck’s sensor-based weighing opera- downs and exceptional, non-routine collection tasks) as well as
tion at the collection site and likewise at the disposal site’s route optimization in the event of traffic incidents (such as traffic
weighbridge. bottlenecks). Because of research budget limitations, we have not
The GPS and GPRS modules are used both to record the lati- yet developed and incorporated any feature of route optimization
tude/longitude coordinates of trucks, and their routes and opera- into the IoT system. To do so, it will be vital to combine other
tional statuses in real time and to transmit this information to IoT information (e.g., traffic jam information from other commer-

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waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 7

3G video server
Vehicle on-board
controller (baery) &
LCD

Control GPRS
Integrated RFID reader board & GPS

Fig. 4. Smart collection truck and its on-board devices.

Collecon truck Weighing

RFW dumping
Liing bin up

Fig. 5. Video files of the RFW collection process using the IoT-based system in Suzhou City.

cial systems) with the geographic information acquired by our own
IoT system (and this is the subject of future work). Combined with
the RFW measurement information, such truck operating data also
enable the output of dynamic digital maps for visualizing RFW
generation and collection, which should further enhance opera-
tional decision-making.
In addition, we developed on-board hardware devices (i.e., a
handset and on-board controller) for acquiring, packaging, and
transmitting the data and information from all the on-board sens-
ing devices in real time. The system architecture of the vehicle on-
board controller is as shown in Fig. 7. Its principal functionalities
are:
(1) Interface with a GPS-control module based on GPS data.
(2) Interface with a weighing-control module, based on data
from the weighing system.
(3) Interface with an RFID-control module, collecting data, and
RFID tag identification.
(4) Two control module interfaces are reserved for collecting
additional relevant data, such as oil pressure and fuel
consumption.
(5) A control interface with WIFI to enable wireless communica-
tion with a handheld RFID device (or handheld quick-
response code scanner).
(6) The control panel is equipped with a 315 M wireless control
module to enable wireless control, debugging and
visualization.
(7) Interface with wireless GPRS/Data transfer unit (DTU) for
transmitting on-board terminal data wirelessly. Central
monitoring software receives and visualizes data from a
GPRS/DTU terminal through the public network to analyze
and process data. A 4G communication network and User
Datagram Protocol (UDP) is used for this communication.
(8) Other functions: an on-board controller receives RFID tag
values of all food waste bins and oil collecting cans sent by
an RFID reader. These data are stored in the terminal

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waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
8 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Sensor weighing (sensor)

Weighbridge weighing

Sensor weighing informaon (informaon confirmaon) Weighbridge weighing informaon

Fig. 6. Sensor-based weighing at the collection site and on the weighbridge at the disposal site entrance using the integrated IoT system in Suzhou.

Fig. 7. System architecture of the vehicle on-board controller.

database of an on-board controller for statistics and man-
agement. If some RFID tags cannot be identified, then the
bins/cans are assumed to be outside of the scope of monitor-
ing, resulting in a warning being sent to the control center.
3.3.3. Application to the disposal service provider
When the truck completes the transportation of RFW and enters
the disposal site, this system uses an IC card reader to identify the
truck and a weighbridge to weigh the RFW collected in the truck.
The vehicle information and the weight data are sent to the
back-end server simultaneously through an industrial personal
computer (IPC) and compared with the sum of recorded weights
of RFW collected from each catering company by the truck. If the
deviation between the two kinds of data does not exceed the limit,
namely 5% (as noted above), then subsidies are provided, depend-
ing on the measured value at the disposal site. Otherwise, the sys-

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waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 9

tem generates an alarm signal to warn the government by means
of a screen pop-up notification and the issue of a text message.
In this case, a re-check would be conducted, requiring a full report
from the disposal company. The warning notification can be
marked as processed only after the re-check information is
submitted.
In addition to emissions of wastewater, solid waste and waste
gas, the biodiesel, biogas and organic fertilizer production are all
also monitored in real time by sensors. Based on the monitored
quantity of output products from the disposal process the amount
of RFW actually treated by the disposal company can be calculated,
using the principles of material flow accounting and the input-
output relationship of the treatment process. Compared with the
measured amount of RFW that enters the disposal site, the system
can therefore identify whether RFW is being illegally dumped by
the disposal company.
3.4. Development of an information platform
Based on the data acquired and transmitted by the IoT devices,
we developed an information platform to enable and support real-
time, online management of RFW in Suzhou. All the data used in
the information platform are from the stand-alone system devel-
oped for the present study. The architecture of the management
platform is comprised of six modules, as shown in Fig. 8. More
specifically, the submodules of each module are comprised of the
following features.
3.4.1. Generation module
Sound management of RFW at the source can ensure waste
minimization and trustworthy and environmentally sound prac-
tices. Within the overall RFW train, lack of management of RFW
generation at source is widely acknowledged as the critical bottle-
neck in China; it is in need of urgent resolution. Supervision of the
generation process is therefore one of the most significant func-
tionalities of the information platform.
The ‘‘GIS demonstration” submodule is designed to show infor-
mation such as the geographic location and contact details of RFW
generators. Using this submodule, managers can view the distribu-
tion of RFW generators and check information on catering compa-
nies. The ‘‘Generation amount management” submodule presents
inter alia a table of the relevant collection area with data on the
number of trash bins, the frequency of RFW collection and trans-
portation, and the daily average amount of RFW generated. The
‘‘Check management” submodule allows for monitoring of whether
the rate of RFW generation of a catering company exceeds limits.
Indeed, it is designed to show the times at which limits are
exceeded and other relevant status information.
In conclusion, this module allows decision-makers to under-
stand the distribution of RFW generators and the RFW generation
amounts. This helps to prevent the sale of RFW through unofficial
third-party channels.
3.4.2. Collection and transportation module
Supervision of RFW collection and transport plays just as critical
a role as the supervision of RFW generation in the minimization,
validation and environmentally sound management of RFW. In
some cities, the collection and transportation fee is over half of
the total disposal fee for RFW. This module is accordingly designed
to promote compliance and optimization in the RFW collection and
transportation process.
The ‘‘Demonstration of collection and transportation” submod-
ule presents a GIS map of the real-time location, status, direction,
speed and historical route of every collection truck, based on data
acquired by the vehicular GPS/GPRS subsystem. In the GIS map, the
planned route and actual route can be compared, to judge whether
or not a truck is abiding by the rules. Moreover, the catering com-
pany’s information, such as its name, the district it belongs to, col-
lection time and RFW amount, and the number of collected bins,
can be checked. The ‘‘Management of collection and transporta-
tion” submodule presents information on each truck’s collection
and transportation situation, including the catering company’s
name, district, weighing time, RFID number and scanning time,
and the net weight of RFW. The ‘‘Video surveillance” submodule
shows real-time video footage of collection and transportation
operations, as acquired by an on-board mobile video device. Again,
the purpose of this is to prevent secondary pollution and subsidy
fraud. The ‘‘Alarm management” submodule can set up a warning

Management Platform of Commerical Food

Waste

Generation Collection and Disposal Product Decision- Public service

transportation making support module
module module module module module

Demonstration of Disposal data Basic data analysis

GIS demonstration collection and
transportation Critical point Product Generation Complaint
Generation amount Collection and monitoring demonstration analysis
Appointment
management transportation Alarm Collection and
amount management management Product transportation Interaction with
Check management analysis
Video surveillance Emission supervisor
management
management Disposal analysis
Alarm management

Fig. 8. Architecture of the management platform for RFW in Suzhou.

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10 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
threshold for abnormalities, such as unauthorized parking and
communication timeouts. There is also a record of historical
alarms.
In conclusion, this module enables location/route/logistics man-
agement, the supervision of standardized truck operation, and the
optimal allocation of trucks during the collection and transporta-
tion process.
3.4.3. Disposal module
This module enables on-line supervision of RFW disposal and is
divided into four submodules — ‘‘Disposal data”, ‘‘Critical point
monitoring”, ‘‘Alarm management” and ‘‘Emission management”.
Using information obtained from IC card identification and the
automatic truck weighing subsystem, the ‘‘Disposal data” submod-
ule can present real-time weight data at the disposal site, such as
the license plate number of the truck, the district the truck belongs
to, weighing time and net RFW weight. For monitoring to prevent
subsidy fraud, it can also compare the weight of RFW measured at
the disposal site and at the collection site to calculate the percent-
age deviation. The ‘‘Critical point monitoring” submodule gener-
ates real-time video footage of operations at critical locations at
the disposal site, as shown in Fig. 10. It also provides real-time data
on the disposal amount, product amounts, and pollutant emission
amounts. The ‘‘Alarm management” submodule records the pro-
cessing of warning issues (e.g. the percentage deviation between
the weights of RFW measured at the disposal and collection sites,
if the deviation exceeds the threshold). The ‘‘Emission manage-
ment” submodule presents real-time data on wastewater and solid
waste emissions during disposal, including their amounts and tim-
ings. In short, this module helps prevent cheating, such as the
watering down of RFW, and monitors the critical points and emis-
sions at the disposal site to prevent secondary pollution there.
3.4.4. Product module
This module aims to enhance the management of the resource-
regeneration products derived from RFW. It is divided into two
submodules: ‘‘Product demonstration” and ‘‘Product manage-
ment”. ‘‘Product demonstration” visualizes in tabular format the
weight of RFW before disposal and the product output after the
disposal process, where these products include biodiesel, methane,
and wet feed. ‘‘Product management” is the e-management of the
stock and sales volumes of the various recovered products.
3.4.5. Decision-making support module
This module provides real-time information on the entire RFW
treatment process. Its purpose is to help decision-makers find fur-
ther opportunities for greater operational efficiency, to adjust man-
Fig. 10. Video surveillance of critical points at the RFW disposal site. Note: Numbered locations in the left image indicate the positions of video cameras. The right image
shows the truck weighing point, as observed from the camera at location 14 in the left image.
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waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
agement procedures, and to build a more optimized RFW recycling
system. It is divided into four submodules: ‘‘Basic data analysis”,
‘‘Generation analysis”, ‘‘Collection and transportation analysis”
and ‘‘Disposal analysis”. The ‘‘Basic data analysis” submodule tab-
ulates and plots summary statistics on those catering companies
under contract in the various city districts, the number of trash
bins, and the usage status of RFID tags. The ‘‘Generation analysis”,
‘‘Collection and transportation analysis” and ‘‘Disposal analysis”
submodules provide real-time data on the amount of RFW being
generated, the amounts being collected, and the amounts being
recycled in the different districts at different times. They also
enable secondary analysis of operational data, such as the estima-
tion of production rates and emission rates. The entire RFW collec-
tion, transportation, and disposal process is visualized in summary
statistical terms, such as bar charts, pie charts and line charts.
3.4.6. Public service module
This module aims to build a vehicle for mobilizing public partic-
ipation in the supervision and management of RFW, in part
through guaranteeing the availability of information that is easily
accessible and readily understood by the non-expert. It is divided
into three submodules: ‘‘Complaint”, ‘‘Appointment” and ‘‘Interac-
tion with supervisor”. Through the functions of these submodules,
a complaints and reporting procedure may be developed, including
an on-line channel for members of the public to report illicit activ-
ities, such as the illegal trading of gutter oil.
4. System implementation and performance results
The IoT-enabled system has been operating in the urban area of
Suzhou City as a pilot program since 2012. Up to December 2015,
6265 catering companies had participated in the scheme. 36,084
trash bins had been fitted with RFID tags, and the government-
commissioned disposal company had used 28 smart collection
trucks equipped with RFID readers, weight sensors, GPS, GIS, and
wireless video surveillance cameras. Lastly, on-line monitoring of
recovered products and pollutant emissions has been realized. In
short, effective supervision of the entire system has been achieved,
from RFW generation to disposal.
4.1. Positive results
Over several years of operation, the system has demonstrated
three positive impacts on RFW management in Suzhou:
First, the control of RFW generation sources has improved. As
shown in Table 3, the amount of RFW collected via official channels
 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
Table 3
Data on the collection and transportation of RFW via official channels, catering revenues, and population in Suzhou City from 2012 to 2015.
Item
Amount of RFW collected officially (ton)
Number of catering companies under contract
Catering revenues in urban city (million Yuan)
Year-end permanent population (million)
Data source: The amount of RFW collected by official channels and the number of catering companies under contract are from the Suzhou Environmental Sanitation and
Administration Agency. The catering revenues in the urban city and the year-end permanent population numbers are from the Suzhou Statistical Yearbook 2013–2016.
grew to 1,33,019 tons in 2015, a 20.5% increase compared to 2012.
In addition, the number of catering companies under contract
increased to 7488, a 207% growth compared with 2012. Table 3
also shows that the catering revenues in the urban area and the
year-end permanent population in Suzhou changed only slightly
from 2012 to 2015, which implies that the total amount of RFW
generated in Suzhou has changed little over the three years. This
means that the increase in RFW collected via official channels in
Suzhou can be primarily attributed to the IoT system, rather than
to any overall increase in RFW generation from 2012 to 2015. Since
the implementation of the IoT system, formal regulation of RFW
generators has been strengthened, which has led to increased
RFW collection via official channels.
Second, the effectiveness of enforcing RFW management regu-
lations has been improved. Using the IoT system, law enforcement
officials can be dispatched whenever there is an alarm signal. Illicit
activities regarding RFW treatment can also be discovered and cor-
rected quickly. Given the system, over 30 illicit cases per year of
RFW mis-management have been detected and dealt with in a
timely manner during three years of monitoring. The system has
thus reduced the resources invested in meaningless and arbitrary
checks and instead increased the accuracy and timeliness of law
enforcement.
Third, the entire RFW treatment process has been formalized
and optimized. Based on the IoT system, the whole process from
RFW generation to disposal is now monitored from multiple
angles. This effectively prevents illicit activities, such as random
dumping of RFW by catering companies, leaking truck bodies, spil-
ling and dripping of RFW, watering down of the waste during
transport, irregular truck driving routes, and unregulated pollutant
emissions and illegal dumping during final treatment and disposal.
According to the Suzhou Environmental Sanitation and Adminis-
tration Agency, there have been significantly fewer cases of such
illicit activities since the IoT system was introduced.
4.2. Negative results
Inevitably, the system also experienced some negative perfor-
mance results.
First, the more frequent handling of collection bins means that
many RFID tags have had to be renewed more frequently, because
they are broken more easily by such more intensive use. This has
increased running costs. The service life of RFID tags attached to
bins is from 3 months to 1 year. As the price of issuing one RFID
tag per garbage bin is 0.5 RMB, the total replacement cost per year
is between 18,000 RMB and 72,000 RMB.
Second, the benefits of the time saved in using the dynamic/
automatic weight sensors led to the costs of higher errors in these
weight readings. The margin of measurement errors was found to
be around 20% at the beginning of implementation. The previous
static/manual method was more accurate, but more time-
consuming, because it increases the manual labor involved in the
additional procedure of pressing the control button.
Third, the use of the IoT system was not altogether optimal, in
the sense that it led to disagreements between government depart-
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11
2012 2013 2014 2015
1,10,413 1,06,806 1,23,330 1,33,019
2442 4451 6633 7488
7128.95 6828.88 6763.86 7195.51
10.5491 10.5787 10.604 10.616
ments about its credibility. The Suzhou Environmental Sanitation
and Administration Agency is responsible for supervising RFW dis-
posal and allocating subsidies to the disposal company; it is also
responsible for the operation and maintenance of the IoT system.
Yet the Suzhou Food and Drug Administration Agency is responsi-
ble for food security, including the punishment of any illegal trade
in gutter oil; it does not entirely trust the information provided by
the system from the Environmental Sanitation and Administration
Agency. Consequently, the impact of the IoT system on the new
management system was slightly lower than we had hoped.
5. Discussion
Our IoT-based system has extended the traditional scope of
RFW supervision: from what was once supervision of the disposal
process alone to now the entire train, from generation, through col-
lection and transportation, to disposal. This clearly remedies the
problem of focusing solely on disposal, while ignoring source con-
trol. In addition, it advances the establishment of a long-term RFW
regulatory mechanism for the entire train. Moreover, it enables the
pro-active management of RFW based on data rather than passive
response. Our system has had several impacts on the stakeholders
involved, as now discussed.
For the catering company, the system has an RFID identification
and weight sensor system for acquiring real-time data on the col-
lected amount of RFW from every catering company under con-
tract. When the collected RFW amount for a certain period of
time is far below either the average for the same period in the
record of the past, or estimates of the amounts that should nor-
mally be being generated, the system issues an alert to the super-
vising authorities: that they should check whether the catering
company might be selling RFW via illegal channels. In addition,
the amount of RFW generated in every catering company can be
measured, and based on these values, the spatial distribution of
RFW generation can be simulated to facilitate spatial planning of
collection, transportation and disposal facilities. On the other hand,
RFW flowing into illegal channels has been stemmed as a result of
the introduction of the IoT system, guaranteeing the disposal of
RFW in a clean and environmentally friendly way.
For the disposal company commissioned for RFW collection and
transportation, the IoT system uses mobile cameras, GPS, and GPRS
to monitor the collection and transportation process. In particular,
the weight of RFW measured by the automatic truck scale system
at the entrance to the disposal company’s treatment site can be
compared with the corresponding weight measured at the collec-
tion sites, to check whether there is cheating during collection
and transportation (e.g., watering down of the waste). If the per-
centage deviation between the weight of RFW measured at the dis-
posal site and collection site was found to exceed the threshold, the
real-time video feed can be accessed to carry out checks. In addi-
tion, the amounts of products and emissions can also be acquired
in real time and compared with the input of RFW, so that the effi-
ciency of RFW utilization can be calculated and illegal dumping of
RFW during disposal can be identified. At other times, when emis-
sions exceed the threshold permitted, the responsible party can be
12 Z. Wen et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
informed to carry out the relevant checks in a timely and targeted
manner. According to our interviews with this stakeholder, the dis-
tinct advantages welcomed by the disposal company are that, first,
the IoT system facilitated its communication with the government
stakeholder and, second, its supply of RFW became more pre-
dictable and stable.
For the Suzhou Government, the system has strong implica-
tions. In addition to real-time monitoring and control, the system
also generates statistical summaries of the real-time data. This
includes visualization and comparisons of the amounts of RFW
being generated, collected, transported, and disposed of, by both
district and time. Secondary analysis, such as calculation of dis-
posal by-product rates and emission rates, is also available. In
sum, this information provides important references for govern-
ment policy formulation. According to our discussions, the distinct
advantage which the government appreciates about the system is
that it makes subsidy allocation more reliable and regulatory
enforcement more precise.
For the public, the developed system not only makes the status
of RFW collection and transportation transparent, it also provides a
convenient way for the public to expose and report illegal activi-
ties, such as trade in illegal cooking oil. It enhances public environ-
mental awareness about RFW and promotes responsible
consumption and disposal practices.
Regarding the limitations of the system (Section 4), several
enhancements can be recommended. First, to solve the problem
of frequent RFID tag renewal, a new way of integrating tag and
bin should be designed to make the tag more readily detachable
from the bin. Second, regarding the problems relating to the effi-
ciency and accuracy of the weight sensors, the dynamic and auto-
matic weight sensor used in the RFW trucks is currently being fine-
tuned. Experiments are already being carried out to increase its
accuracy. Last, information-sharing and trust-building between
different government departments should be promoted to improve
the efficiency of information utilization. Good governance in such
aspects of RFW management, as in other sectors of city administra-
tion and infrastructure management, is, of course, an especially
important factor in promoting (or stifling) technological innova-
tion (Beck et al., 2011; Thompson and Beck, 2014).
6. Conclusion
In order to solve the problem of inadequate RFW management,
an IoT-based system has been developed and applied in the city of
Suzhou, China. It encompasses the generation, collection, trans-
portation and final disposal of RFW and its development has
involved research on both the software and hardware components
of the system. They have been designed, implemented, and then
tested over a period of three years of operation.
The components of the developed system cover the entire RFW
management chain:
1. RFW generation: An RFID identification system and weight
sensor system have been developed to acquire real-time data
on the collected mass of RFW from every catering company
under contract. This avoids the inconvenience of the existing
method of data gathering and solves the problem of uncertainty
regarding the source of RFW generation.
2. RFW collection and transportation: We have also developed a
‘‘smart” RFW collection truck equipped with RFID readers,
weight sensors, Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic
Information System (GIS), and wireless video surveillance cam-
eras to enable real-time supervision during collection and
transportation. Surveillance cameras acquire real-time video
information on RFW collection and transportation operations
in order to monitor for secondary pollution and subsidy fraud.
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waste management. Waste Management (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.11.054
GPS technology is used to acquire real-time location informa-
tion for monitoring the travel routes of the trucks and providing
feedback for timely, dynamic truck allocation and route adjust-
ment. To manage the large amount of data generated by the
sensors/devices on each truck, a vehicle on-board controller
was developed, which allows for real-time acquisition, packag-
ing, and transmission of data and information from all the on-
board sensing devices.
3. RFW disposal: Sensors facilitate automatic monitoring of bio-
diesel, biogas, and organic fertilizer production at the disposal
facility in real time.
4. Integrated RFW management platform: Based on the hard-
ware system across the RFW value chain, we also developed a
management platform to enable real-time data visualization,
statistics, queries, analytic processing, local surveillance, and
warnings of process bottlenecks. This online management sys-
tem provides a comprehensive auxiliary information support
system for the decision-maker.
Evaluation of the performance of the system shows that it had a
strong and positive impact on RFW management. Positive results
include better supervision and control of RFW generation, better
law enforcement over RFW malpractice, an overall reduction in illi-
cit activities, and better process optimization across the entire
RFW value chain. Negative results include the frequent need to
renew RFID tags for waste bins, measuring error in the automatic/-
dynamic weight sensors, and disagreements between government
agencies regarding how to best interpret data from the IoT system.
Overall however, and according to our preliminary analysis, the
IoT-based system has had net positive effects for the stakeholders
involved, including the catering companies, all the service provi-
ders (for collection, transport, disposal), the government, and the
public. In the future, we plan to assess the attitudes and percep-
tions of stakeholders towards the system (especially those of the
catering companies and the public) using formal evaluation instru-
ments, such as questionnaire with Likert scale.
Nevertheless, the system can be further optimized. Regarding
the problem of damaged RFID tag renewal, new tags should be
designed which are easier to disassemble and detach from the bins.
Secondly, regarding the problem of the efficiency and accuracy of
weight sensors, the dynamic and automatic weight sensor used
in the RFW trucks should be further fine-tuned, to which end work
is already ongoing. Third, regarding conflicts between different
government departments, information-sharing and trust-building
must be encouraged in order to realize the full potential of the
IoT-based system. Solving these issues will facilitate the large-
scale replication of this system in other Chinese mega-cities.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the
National Key Research and Development Program of China
(2011BAC06B10, 2016YFC0502802) and the National Natural
Science Fund for Outstanding Young Scholars of China
(71522011). The contents of this paper reflect the views of the
authors and do not necessarily indicate the views of the sponsors.
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