Mergin Maps and QGIS used for municipal waste composition survey in the Czech Republic.

Global Environmental Threat of Municipal Waste

The dumping of municipal waste is a global threat to our environment and all life forms.

Currently, there is a distinct trend of less landfilling, as countries move steadily towards alternative ways of recycling and incineration, where material use is not possible.

Dr Martin Pavlas, Associate Professor at the Institute of Process Engineering in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Brno University of Technology in the Czech Republic, is doing important research as part of an EU project regarding municipal waste sampling.

Bins to be sampled (Photo: M. Pavlas)

With the aid of Mergin Maps and QGIS, he is carrying out an extensive municipal waste composition survey in the Czech Republic. Together with Peter Petrik of Lutra Consulting, a unique GIS-based tool was developed for the waste sampling. This includes a prototype mobile application based on Mergin Maps for waste sampling in the field.