There are many things in everyday life that most people don't think too much about - because they just work. If you put the garbage out in the morning, you simply take the empty garbage can back in in the afternoon. If you are renovating, you order a container for construction waste and simply have it collected again when it is full or no longer needed. However, there is much more to "waste collection" - as it is popularly known - than just collecting waste. Many waste management companies see themselves as an important part of a sustainable way of life. This is one of the reasons why ALBA has just changed its claim from "We call it raw material" to "We are the future".

"We are the future" (ALBA).

The ALBA Group is a complex structure with numerous companies and around 5400 employees spread across 180 locations. In order to be equipped for the future, ALBA not only aims to recycle as many raw materials as possible in cycles, but also to control processes logistically and communicatively using state-of-the-art methods.

Logistical challenge and optimized processes

If you look around ALBA's container scheduling department in Berlin, you will notice that each container is equipped with a yellow and a much smaller red transponder - which is due to a long-standing partnership with the RATHGEBER company smart-TEC. "We have tens of thousands of containers and several thousand presses in use across ALBA," says Jannick Michaelis from the ALBA Logistics Competence Center in Berlin: "And of course we want to know first and foremost where they all are." On the one hand, because each container alone is worth several thousand euros in goods. On the other hand, however, because this allows ALBA to better control internal processes from scheduling to accounting.

Targeted digital communication with end customers

That's why ALBA has been working with smart-TEC for over ten years. The yellow transponders, explains Michaelis, were first attached to the containers of the other ALBA companies in Berlin and later nationwide. RFID technology (Radio-Frequency Identification) enables the precise recording of pick-up and drop-off times. Each driver has a reader in his vehicle to communicate with the RFID transponders. Whenever an ALBA driver places a container, he transmits the data to the central dispatching system with a scan.

A software changeover and completely new ideas to expand digital communication with the end customer have now led to ALBA's decision to switch from RFID to NFC technology in collaboration with smart-TEC. This is why smaller red transponders are now also fitted to the containers. "Today, every cell phone has an NFC reader," says Michaelis, explaining the technology, which everyone has probably already used for contactless payment because it is also based on Near Field Communication technology. "NFC offers us completely new possibilities," says Michaelis, explaining the reasons for the switch. Because it's not just ALBA drivers who can scan the transponders, but simply anyone. While little will change for the drivers, both business and private customers will also be able to communicate directly with ALBA via the transponders in future. "An unbeatable advantage," says Michaelis.

"The decision to make the switch was made in close cooperation with smart-TEC," Jannik Michaelis (ALBA).

When the customer holds their smartphone directly to the transponder, the newly developed ALBA-Click platform opens. Anyone who needs a container or wants to have one collected can now easily do so digitally. "The decision to make the switch was made in close cooperation with smart-TEC," says Michaelis, looking back. Theoretically, it would have been possible to continue communicating with customers via RFID for internal purposes and via QR codes. However, with containers that are constantly being moved and exposed to high mechanical stress, it quickly became clear that although NFC transponders are more expensive to purchase, they are significantly more durable and therefore more cost-effective in the long term.

Most suitable for high load requirements

"Both the RFID and NFC transponders can withstand high loads in the long term," says Sebastian Grüttner, the contact person responsible for ALBA at smart-TEC. Mechanical influences such as pressure, vibrations or impacts do not affect the transponders, nor do weather influences: "The PU layer makes them extremely resistant." The robust assembly with rivets or screws also means that the technology meets the requirements of a waste disposal company. "Nothing falls off," says Grüttner, even when one hot spell follows another, as has been the case this summer.

Because there is a lot going on in the waste disposal industry - in the truest sense of the word - the transponders don't just have to be resilient. "We also have to be able to react quickly," says Michaelis, explaining the benefits of transponder technology for his company: "If we know in detail how our containers are moved and emptied, it also helps us to better assess the needs of our customers," which ideally leads to better advice and support.

Focusing on the needs of consumers

Michaelis also predicts changes in the traditional collection of private waste. "Every district regulates this differently, which makes it more complicated than our school system," he says with a wink. But NFC technology can be easily integrated into every household waste garbage can. And that means that, ideally, the exact weight of every bin emptied can be recorded if the technical requirements, such as a scale in the vehicle, are met. As a result, consumers could theoretically only pay for the exact amount of waste they generate. And waste disposal companies would be able to document exactly which garbage cans were emptied in which street and at what time.

Technically, all of this is already possible. "When it comes to implementation, there are really no limits to the imagination," says Michaelis. What should not change, however, is that people will have to think about how to dispose of their waste. Because it will still simply work. With smart technology, possibly even better than before.