Advancements in waste management: a comprehensive review of Artificial Intelligence applications in smart cities
Aadil Bari , Oroos Arshi , Surajit Mondal
Smart Construction and Sustainable Cities ›› 2026, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (1) : 7
As urbanization continues and populations grow, proper waste management in smart cities has become a top priority. It is an effort to give the symbiotic association between artificial intelligence (AI) and waste management and involves a detailed exploration of the developing AI technologies and its use in the environment of smart cities. It also points out the background and history of the investigation, with the increased role of AI in waste management. The comprehensive literature review is also done to explain the purpose of smart cities and the integration of AI through their systems. It also implies exploring the new AI technologies in waste management such as blockchain to maintain clear traces of trash, use of drones to survey and control, smart bin, garbage sorting robots, sensor-controlled waste management, and predictive waste generation models. It also discusses the problem of waste management in smart cities, such as high rates of urbanization, types of waste, resource.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Smart Cities / Innovative AI Technologies / Drones / Smart Bins / Waste Sorting Robots / Sensor-Based Monitoring
| [1] |
|
| [2] |
Al-Masri E, Diabate I, Jain R, Lam MH, Nathala SR (2018) Recycle. io: An IoT-enabled framework for urban waste management. In 2018 IEEE international conference on big data (big data). IEEE, Seattle, pp. 5285–5287 |
| [3] |
Al-Masri E, Diabate I, Jain R, Lam MHL, Nathala SR (2018) A serverless IoT architecture for smart waste management systems. In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Internet (ICII). IEEE, Seattle, pp. 179–180 |
| [4] |
Alprol AE et al (2024) Artificial Intelligence Technologies Revolutionizing Wastewater Treatment: Current Trends and Future Prospective. Water 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16020314 |
| [5] |
Aroba OJ, Xulu T, Msani NN, Mohlakoana TT, Ndlovu EE, Mthethwa SM (2023) The adoption of an intelligent waste collection system in a smart city. In 2023 Conference on Information Communications Technology and Society (ICTAS). IEEE, pp. 1-6 |
| [6] |
Raaju VA, Meeran JM, Sasidharan M, Premkumar K (2019) IOT based smart garbage monitoring system using ZigBee. In 2019 IEEE International conference on system, computation, automation and networking (ICSCAN). IEEE, pp. 1-7 |
| [7] |
Borisov AI, Andreev DV (2019) Organizational and economic aspects of waste management in Russia. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series. IOP Publishing, Russia, 1327(1):012016 |
| [8] |
|
| [9] |
|
| [10] |
Chauhan R et al (2023) Efficient Future Waste Management: A Learning-Based Approach with Deep Neural Networks for Smart System (LADS). Appl Sci 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13074140 |
| [11] |
|
| [12] |
|
| [13] |
|
| [14] |
Chhay L, Reyad MAH, Suy R, Islam MR, Mian MM (2018) Municipal solid waste generation in China: influencing factor analysis and multi-model forecasting. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 20(3):1761–1770 |
| [15] |
Das A, Das A, Debnath B, Chatterjee S, Das A (2023) A blockchain-based solution for effective E-waste management in sustainable smart cities: a supply chain perspective. In Technological Advancement in E-waste Management. CRC Press, pp. 80-89 |
| [16] |
|
| [17] |
de Souza Henriques R, Goulart Coelho LM (2019) A multi-objective optimization model to support the municipal solid waste management. Environ Eng Manag J (EEMJ) 18(5) |
| [18] |
Dissanayaka DMSH, Vasanthapriyan S (2019) Forecast municipal solid waste generation in Sri Lanka. In 2019 international conference on advancements in computing (ICAC). IEEE, Malabe, pp. 210–215 |
| [19] |
Dubey D, Pandey M, Pande S, Umale S (2023) A study of recycling and waste management strategies for mechanical systems and products with legal aspects. Ind J Sci Res 3(3):78–83 |
| [20] |
|
| [21] |
Fasting MS (2019) Industry 4.0 in Waste Management (Doctoral dissertation, Master’s Thesis, NTNU, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://ntnuopen.ntnu.no/ntnu-xmlui/handle/11250/2619874. Accessed 21 May 2025 |
| [22] |
|
| [23] |
Gour AA, Singh SK (2023) Solid waste management in India: a state-of-the-art review. Environ Eng Res 28(4) |
| [24] |
|
| [25] |
Hittini BY, Shibeika AI (2019) Construction waste management in UAE: An exploratory study. WIT Trans Ecol Environ 238:679–686 |
| [26] |
|
| [27] |
Jeetah P, Somaroo G, Surroop D, Ragen AK, Amode NS (2024) Adoption of Machine Learning for Sustainable Solid Waste Management |
| [28] |
|
| [29] |
|
| [30] |
|
| [31] |
Kannangara M, Dua R, Ahmadi L, Bensebaa F (2018) Modeling and prediction of regional municipal solid waste generation and diversion in Canada using machine learning approaches. Waste Manag 74:3–15 |
| [32] |
Saranya KC, Sujan V, Abivishaq B, Nithish Kanna K (2019) Smart bin with automated metal segregation and optimal distribution of the bins. In Emerging technologies for agriculture and environment: select proceedings of ITsFEW 2018. Singapore: Springer Singapore, pp. 115–125 |
| [33] |
Karthikeyan S, Rani GS, Sridevi M, Bhuvaneswari PTV (2017) IoT enabled waste management system using ZigBee network. In 2017 2nd IEEE International Conference on Recent Trends in Electronics, Information & Communication Technology (RTEICT). IEEE, pp. 2182–2187 |
| [34] |
|
| [35] |
Kurniawan, Tonni Agustiono, et al (2023) "Decarbonization in waste recycling industry using digitalization to promote net-zero emissions and its implications on sustainability." J Environ Manag 338:117765 |
| [36] |
|
| [37] |
|
| [38] |
Maity SK (2018) Importance of municipal solid waste management. Int J Adv Eng Res Sci 5(5):361–363 |
| [39] |
|
| [40] |
Karthikeyan S, Rani GS, Sridevi M, Bhuvaneswari PTV (2017) IoT enabled waste management system using ZigBee network. In 2017 2nd IEEE International Conference on Recent Trends in Electronics, Information & Communication Technology (RTEICT). IEEE, pp. 2182–2187 |
| [41] |
|
| [42] |
Narayanamoorthy, Samayan, et al (2024) "Assessment of inorganic solid waste management techniques using full consistency and extended MABAC method." Environ Sci Pollut Res 31.7 31:9981–9991 |
| [43] |
Navarathna PJ, Malagi VP (2018) Artificial intelligence in smart city analysis. In 2018 International conference on smart systems and inventive technology (ICSSIT). IEEE, Tirunelveli, pp. 44–47 |
| [44] |
|
| [45] |
Nižetić Sandro, et al (2019) "Smart technologies for promotion of energy efficiency, utilization of sustainable resources and waste management." J Clean Prod 231:565–591 |
| [46] |
|
| [47] |
Olabi Abdul Ghani, et al (2024) "COVID‐19: medical waste management, impact on sustainable development goals, and bibliometric analysis." Chem Eng Tech 47.1:4–19 |
| [48] |
|
| [49] |
|
| [50] |
Pollans LB (2019) Sustainability policy paradox: coping with changing environmental priorities in municipal waste management. J Environ Policy Plann 21(6):785–796 |
| [51] |
Praveen A, Radhika R, Rammohan MU, Sidharth D, Ambat S, Anjali T (2020) IoT based smart bin: a swachh-bharat initiative. In 2020 international conference on electronics and sustainable communication systems (ICESC). IEEE, pp. 783–786 |
| [52] |
Putri DAA, Asyary A (2023) A Comparative Analysis of Hazardous Medical Waste Management Compliance Before (2019) and During (2020) the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia. Medicina Preventiva e di Comunita 35(1):61–74 |
| [53] |
|
| [54] |
Rajathi GI et al (2020) Robotic Dustbin on Wheels. Int J Innov Technol Explor Eng 9:1990–1993 |
| [55] |
|
| [56] |
|
| [57] |
Navarathna PJ, Malagi VP (2018) Artificial intelligence in smart city analysis. In 2018 International conference on smart systems and inventive technology (ICSSIT). IEEE, Tirunelveli, pp. 44–47 |
| [58] |
|
| [59] |
|
| [60] |
|
| [61] |
|
| [62] |
Singh, Deval, Anil Kumar Dikshit, and Sunil Kumar (2024) "Smart technological options in collection and transportation of municipal solid waste in urban areas: A mini review." Waste Manag Res 42.1:3–15 |
| [63] |
|
| [64] |
Upadhyay D, Agarwal A (2023) Smart bin: An approach to design smart waste management for smart cities. In Revolutionizing Industrial Automation Through the Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things. IGI Global Scientific Publishing, pp. 177–200 |
| [65] |
Voukkali I, Loizia P, Chatziparaskeva G, Navarro-Pedreno J, Zorpas AA (2019) Urban strategies for waste management in coastal areas. In 16th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology 7(9) |
| [66] |
|
| [67] |
|
| [68] |
|
| [69] |
|
| [70] |
Yusof K, Ismail F, Yunus J, Kasmuni N, Ramele R, Omar M, Mustaffa H (2019) Community participation and performance of waste segregation program in malacca: Towards sustainable waste management. In MATEC Web of Conferences. EDP Sciences, 266 p. 02003 |
| [71] |
|
| [72] |
|
The Author(s)
/
| 〈 |
|
〉 |