Smart City

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Optical Sorting Smart City Upgrades & Retrofit

Smarter waste management in the Netherlands: from full containers to intelligent systems

The Netherlands is often seen as a frontrunner in recycling, yet municipalities still struggle with growing waste volumes, stubborn residual streams, overflowing underground containers and rising costs. This article shows how data‑driven operations, Envac automated waste collection systems (AWCS) and Envac sorting solutions, already proven in Dutch projects such as Almere and Arnhem, can help cities move from day‑to‑day firefighting to more future‑proof, integrated waste infrastructure.

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Smart City Sustainability

Turning a Terminal into a Community Hub: How Explorers Preschool Is Reimagining The Wilds at Barking Riverside

At The Wilds, a multi-purpose community, ecology and events space delivered by Barking Riverside Limited, the Envac terminal is not tucked away in an anonymous shed. Instead, it sits within an award-winning building that also houses workspaces (where the Envac UK office is also located), a local café, events and, importantly, an inclusive early years setting: Barking Riverside Explorers Preschool, part of the SENspired family of services.

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Smart City Sustainability

Food waste: What does the new research show and what does it mean for the collection systems?

A new Swedish study shows that roughly one third of household food waste can in fact be prevented – but also that large amounts of unavoidable, nutrient-rich food waste will always remain. This places high demands on smart collection systems that enable biogas production, circular nutrient flows and more resource-efficient cities, where Envac’s vacuum waste collection systems become a central part of the infrastructure.

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Smart City

Snow storms and lessons learnt: waste systems must be more resilient

The snow chaos in Sweden was a clear reminder of how vulnerable a traditional, vehicle-heavy waste system is. When roads become blocked with snow, snowbanks build up and vehicles get stuck, it directly affects something as fundamental as being able to get rid of your waste. The result is overflowing bins, extra collection rounds, overtime work and residents who are forced to “wait before taking out the rubbish” because the collection simply has not made it through.

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