The various needs of residents and businesses, combined with different waste carriers and municipalities, and the resulting diversity in the calculation of waste management taxes, as well as other challenges, present no obstacle to the efficient operation of the Alytus Regional Waste Management Centre (ARWMC). According to Algirdas Reipas, Head of the ARWMC, support while implementing and improving the information system for the administration of the waste management levy is provided by a flexible IT partner.
Since 2008, ARWMC has partnered with Novian Systems, a company that develops and implements advanced programming solutions for the public and business sectors. This includes the ATRIS information system for the administration of the waste management levy, which is constantly being improved.
Today, the system allows tens of thousands of records from different systems to be integrated efficiently and quickly. As a result, the carriers’ data on the servicing of their waste containers is available in the information system in real time, which leads to the automatic preparation of payment notices, and the waste containers can be monitored to ensuring timely servicing.
“When you have to manage the data of more than a hundred thousand users and obtain timely and accurate information from the carriers, you inevitably start thinking about process efficiency. Together with the Novian Systems team, we are pleased to have found innovative solutions that make our investment in the development of this information system worthwhile every day,” said Algirdas Reipas, Head of the ARWMC.
The Alytus Regional Waste Management Centre was established by 7 municipalities: Alytus City and District, Prienai, Lazdijai and Varėna Districts, Birštonas and Druskininkai. The company manages the waste management systems in these municipalities, operates waste treatment and disposal facilities, and encourages residents to sort their waste. The number of local levy payers in the region is over 108,000.
A region that excels in innovation
According to Danutė Gražienė, Sales Project Manager at Novian Systems, the Alytus centre aims to apply global innovations in its waste management and administration.
“The Alytus Regional Waste Management Centre is not only interested in the efficient operation of the system and providing a user-friendly self-service website, but also in introducing advanced innovations, such as fast data analytics and the integration of sustainable initiatives,” explained the Novian Systems Project Manager. According to her, Alytus can be viewed as one of the most advanced waste management centres in the country.
For example, in 2019, ARWMC implemented a project in the city of Birštonas for smart containers with an electronic lock – the locks have identification codes that were distributed to residents, allowing the system to determine how often the containers are used and to calculate the preliminary volume of waste generated by a resident.
This encourages people to sort their waste, as they only have to pay for unsorted items. In addition, the ARWMC was the first in Lithuania to implement a container marking and accounting system, which allows data on the time of the waste collection to be collected, processed and systematised.
“Waste management is becoming increasingly important due to climate change and rising consumption, so the solutions we develop are not only important for our client, but are also contributing to real change. If this technology can increase sustainability, that is particularly important for us,” Danutė Gražienė said.
Taxes for one hundred thousand of taxpayers assessed in 2-3 minutes
According to Algirdas Reipas, by using the ATRIS information system, the company saves time and other resources on a daily basis, while avoiding human error.
For example, the ATRIS system can calculate the taxes for 100,000 taxpayers in just minutes. The waste administrator also benefits from the fact that the system is linked to the address register, so that when an address changes, the data is are automatically updated. In addition, an optimisation of the payment notification services in Alytus is underway, through it integration with the Mano Alytus (My Alytus) unified customer service centre.
ARWMC customers also benefit from a self-service website that is being continuously improved. It allows residents or businesses to view tax notifications, as well as find information on incentives, emptying of containers, ordering of services or accessing further information related to waste sorting.
According to Algirdas Reipas, the company appreciates the fact that the information system developed by Novian works in all browsers and can integrate data from different carriers. This ensures the control of timely and accurate data transmissions. In addition, the system allows information to be processed quickly and for a variety of analyses to be performed, e.g. for container servicing schedules and dispatches, as well as to spot discrepancies and to look for reasons why they happened.
Just about everyone is involved
According to the Head of ARWMC, when the company started its activities two decades ago, it was difficult to understand how information technology could be used to reach users, administer their data, link the carriers’ information and to know what the technical capabilities of such a system should be.
“When we started working together with Novian Systems, we began to realise that it is important not only to find out the most pressing needs, but also to look at them in a comprehensive, integrated way,” said Algirdas Reipas.
According to him, virtually everyone is involved in waste sorting, so it is quite a puzzle to reach everyone, regardless of the specifics of their activity, sorting skills, consumption and other differences. Thought also had to be given to how relevant information could be provided to consumers, demonstrating the benefits of sorting, and how to calculate taxes and concessions, while taking into account the timely data provided by carriers.
According to A. Reipas, from the very beginning of their cooperation, Novian Systems showed great patience and a willingness to listen. “We found a partner who knows how to be flexible, who understands our deep processes and is constantly in touch, so we were able to continue growing,” said the Head of the Alytus company.
He revealed that one of the biggest conundrums today is how to tackle the global problem of waste sorting, so that there is no unsorted waste, and what to do with waste that cannot be recycled or is difficult to recycle, such as single-use nappies.
“We are now seriously considering possible alternatives, such as rentals of reusable nappies, with tax incentives provided for sustainable families. Of course, the technological aspects of this solution would also be important,” said Algirdas Reipas regarding his future plans.
Software has to be updated every time the legislation changes
In addition to the region of Alytus, the ATRIS system is currently used by the Tauragė Regional Waste Management Centre, Vilnius Waste System Administrator (VWSA), Utena Regional Waste Management Centre, and the municipalities of Šiauliai, Ukmergė, Šilutė, Raseiniai, Pakruojis, Skuodas and Visaginas, all of which administer the data of more than 570,000 taxpayers.
We have been working in the waste management sector for 16 years now. Understanding the specifics of the business and adding our IT expertise, we are able to offer advanced solutions in this sector. A specific issue in this sector is that the levy legislation changes frequently, requiring software changes. Even a small change in the legislation may be quite difficult to implement in the system,” Danutė Gražienė said.
The Novian group companies offer IT management, programming and digitisation solutions
Novian Systems, the supplier of a wide range of software development services, is part of the Novian group, whose companies provide IT solutions and services to organisations and businesses according to their specific needs – from programming, to creating and maintaining an IT infrastructure, and digitisation. These solutions include process automation, data empowerment, robotics, artificial intelligence and more.
Also the group’s competences include high-performance computing devices and clusters, open source cloud technologies, high-availability data, archiving and other solutions.
The companies have experience not only in waste management, but also in e-health, tax administration, smart cities and other areas of e-government. They have implemented aviation, defence and energy projects, and are actively working with a wide range of businesses.
