Curtin Malaysia team wins Malaysia Technology Expo 2022 Gold Award

MIRI: The Smart World Sustainability (SWS) project team of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) of 15 students and alumni recently won the Gold Award at the Malaysia Technology Expo 2022 - Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) International Innovation Awards and Expo, which was held virtually this year.

Their winning submission for the awards was their ‘MyCleanCity’ integrated smart bin IOT (Internet-of-Things) system and mobile application, which the team has been developing since September 2020 under the supervision of lecturer Dr Lau Shiew Wei and Associate Professor Stephanie Chan, with funding from Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science.

According to the team in a press statement, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) expects the global urban population to reach 6.5 billion by 2050, and the world can expect more economic and environment challenges in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for sustainable cities and communities.

“Our innovation provides a unique digital, interactive solution to the management of recyclable wastes in Miri, including the collecting and transporting of recyclable wastes for recycling.

“It also helps to promote Miri as a smart city as envisioned by the Sarawak Government and the Miri City Council,” said the SWS team’s project manager, Paul Tinotenda Nyamtowo.

Chan, meanwhile, said that the innovation is also part of Curtin Malaysia’s Knowledge Transfer Programme (KTP) to enhance mutual collaboration and knowledge transfer between the university and sectors of the community such as government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and businesses.

The technological components of the smart waste management system comprises of a novel mobile application and ‘smart bins’. The ‘MyCleanCity’ mobile application connects those generating solid wastes with solid waste recyclers through various online interfaces.

This allows the solid waste generators to manage the collection and storage of their solid wastes in smart bins which are designed to detect the levels of waste collected, as well as weigh them for data capturing and analysis purposes.

Meanwhile, an inter-linked interface for recyclers enables the recyclers to receive and accept waste collection requests from the generators, and arrange for prompt collection.

Thus, the system is able to manage the entire waste collection and recycling process, allowing the users to navigate and monitor the transactions using Google Maps API.

The system also has the capability to generate various reports, such as reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption, land use and other environmental impacts through the use of a more efficient waste management system.

“The continued success of this project will facilitate the expansion of the system and create a resilient recycling and waste management network in Miri city,” said Lau.