Smart Trash Container --- The penultimate smart thing!

I have to move my trash container approximately 200 feet from my house so that the trash will be collected. Sometimes the collectors come when they are supposed to; other times they do not come until the following day, or latter. From my house, I cannot see if the trash has been collected so that I can bring the container back to the house. I solved the problem by installing a Sensative Door/Window Sensor on my container. It notifies me when the trash has been collected.

My trash container is plastic and has a hinged lid. The sensor is weather resistant but to protect it further, I installed it on the edge of the container such that when the lid is closed, the sensor is protected, and I installed the sensor’s magnet on the lid’s lip. The photo shows where I mounted the parts. I created a simple WebCore piston to only watch for lid opens/closes during the time period I expect the trash is to be collected. When the lid is opened, the piston sends a text message to my phone.

Its a simple application, but it shows that even the lowly trash container can be “Smart.”

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That’s great!

Do you have a repeater between the can and your hub? 200 feet is a long way.

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Yes, there are two repeaters between the collection point and the hub.

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Our garbage company has dumped our bin into the truck and hauled it off three or four times. Our neighbors report similar occurrences. It’s no big deal, we call the company and they bring us a new bin. I hope you don’t lose your bin with that expensive sensor attached.

Cool! Please send link to where I can get this sensor. I want to be notified when people rifle thru my recycle bin so I can go have a “discussion” with them.

I sure hope that the pick-up service doesn’t take my container. It would be a shame to lose such an innovative piece of equipment. :grin:

Here is the link to the manufacturer’s website. I bought it from Smartest House because it included a free motion sensor. Good luck with keeping people from riffling through your recycling.