The company has always paid close attention to the condition of its waste management facilities and equipment.

Digitalizing Citycon’s waste management was justified by the goals of increasing efficiency and reducing costs. The transition to digital waste management was facilitated by Remeo, Citycon’s environmental management transport provider, which actively uses the Europress SMART service. After a successful trial, Citycon and Europress signed an agreement for introducing SMART remote services for the waste management equipment at nearly all its shopping centers in Finland.

Most of Citycon’s shopping centers are very large and can have hundreds of tenants, so the waste rooms located throughout the properties collect a huge amount of waste each day. The company’s waste management equipment has been specified according to the waste fractions collected in each area.

According to Kimmo Hyttinen, Team Lead, Operations Development at Citycon, property managers and waste management employees have flexibly introduced the SMARTweb Portal and the SMARTwaste App. The versatility of SMART and the way it works for everyone make it especially easy to begin using the service. In addition to generating cost savings, the benefits have been reflected in lower CO2 emissions achieved by optimizing fill levels and eliminating redundant transports.

Kimmo Hyttinen confirms that the already high recycling rate has further improved since introducing SMART. The gains are based on long-term joint development work in which all parties have participated: Europress as the supplier of the waste management equipment and SMART services, Remeo as the provider of environmental services and, above all, Citycon’s tenants.

Each waste compactor and waste bin is clearly marked, indicating to users which waste fraction the container or device is intended for. Citycon also holds regular training days for shopping center tenants to guide recycling and identify the most common recycling errors. Successful recycling requires that waste room users want to do the right thing. In addition to training, tenants are actively informed about recycling rates and trends. At shopping centers, store managers and retailers are largely responsible for the effectiveness of recycling, as most waste is handled by store employees.

It is more pleasant to recycle properly in waste rooms that are safe and clean. Recycling conditions for users are affected by lighting, cleanliness, accessibility and safety. If any of the above criteria are not met, the waste may end up in the wrong waste compactor or waste bin. Accordingly, Europress has designed suitable waste management solutions for each waste room, while Citycon has made sure that tenants are also taught how to use the waste facilities and equipment properly.

SMART enables the efficiency of waste management operations to be monitored precisely and provide access to data from a single place. Cost savings are generated by measuring loads precisely, and CO2 emissions are reduced by eliminating redundant and unfilled transports. Another benefit is that the data provided by SMART helps clarify the cost structure of waste management.

Now that the measures taken have achieved good results, Kimmo Hyttinen is looking to the future and the next development projects. Predictability also plays an important role in other digital services used by Citycon. Smart services enable real-time monitoring of equipment, which in turn reduces downtime. With the help of smart services, unpleasant surprises can be kept to a minimum and the equipment can be serviced proactively.

Hyttinen says that he was positively surprised by the continuous monitoring of Europress after the introduction of the service. Regular monitoring not only helps to further develop the service, but also provides both the customer and Europress with valuable information on the direction in which the service is being developed. Regular follow-up meetings are also a great opportunity to gather feedback about user experiences.

The large open spaces of the shopping center house many restaurants that generate enormous amounts of waste each day, including biowaste. The waste management equipment has been specified according to the waste fractions collected in each waste room, making recycling easy.