Determing when trash can has been emptied

I mounted an ms13 motion sensor ( if that's the dark grey waterproof one with a screw on battery lid) inside the lid of our green bin (organic waste) and have an event that runs only on Wed to say it's been emptied.

I used a small piece of wood on the outside to make sure the sensor had a firm base.

The first one wouldn't hold just screwed into the plastic and the sensor disappeared with the garbage ! Expensive lesson - it was an old sensor though.

I had to put a "do not retrigger" in the event as the waste technicians leave the lid open and the sensor also picks up the cars driving by.

Blue box and green bin go into the same truck here.

This has been working fine since last summer.

I like the approach of attaching a wireless PIR to the container. I had consider that approach earlier but felt like the rough handeling on an expensive PIR would be too risky. However, in your case, it looks like you used an X-10 motion sensor. Those are cheap compared to most and would not be a major expense if lost or damaged. This would also mean that I would not need to run a long wire to the trash pick up location.
In my case, I would not want it to pick up local traffic. However, I could put it on the back side of my container so it looks at a blank wall and would only be triggered when the container is moved.

We also have a recycle bin picked up by a seperate pick up vehicle. The pick-up-guy manually separates out the contents into paper/glass/metal bins in his truck and then he tosses the bin aside. No PIR would survive on this container.

I do not have any X-10 components in my HA setup now but it would be easy to add. I will look at this option closely.
 
I would still go with the tilt idea of triggering a sensor.

I would use a hinge and have it mounted on the front of the can with the hinge 'pin' side pointed up. Mount a magnetic sensor on the flap connected to the can and the magnet on the front flap. When the can is tilted the hinge will move in a 90 degree direction and trigger the sensor.

You could also use your motion sensor idea and get a larger hinge, possibly hiding any trigger of motion with it sandwiched inside the hinge. When the hinge opens while tilted, motion would trigger. Possibly make something on your own with this concept to cover the entire motion detector.

I was also considering having the magnet just placed on a string, but worried it would get triggered while moving the can.
 
How about a few super-strong magnets epoxied to the bottom of the can and then a sensor or array of sensors in the ground where you normally place the can(s). You could then hardwire the sensors back to your HA, or connect them to an X10 or Insteon wireless sensor.

Another option would be to place a metal plate on the bottom of the can and then purchase a metal detector kit with a relay output. You could bury the detector loop "around" the area where the cans are placed and then use one of the above methods to signal it being moved. It would work kind of like the traffic light car detectors at intersections.

Terry
 
Seeing the way my trash crew treats my trash cans I would never even think of investing any money into monitoring this. :(
 
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