QR Reader Module Application in a Waste Station

As the amount of trash per person keeps growing, controlling waste at the source is very important. One way to help is to make people show their name when they throw away trash, and set a limit on how much trash each person can produce. If someone goes over the limit, they have to pay. This could help reduce total waste.

In a European country, such smart waste stations are already in use. They bought our HW-1880 QR reader module and installed it inside the waste station. To open the trash bin door, users must scan their ID card or a QR code from a mobile app. This makes waste disposal a real-name process.

For this project, the QR reader needed to meet the following requirements:

1.    A 3mm thick clear acrylic plate must be placed in front of the fixed QR reader module. Since this plate bends light, the position and distance of the reader must be adjusted to reduce light bending as much as possible.

2.    The QR reader must work both in daylight and at night. During the day, it can turn on automatically based on light changes. But at night, it's too dark to start on its own. So the customer added a timer in the waste station control software. From 5 PM to 7 AM, the reader's light stays on all the time. At 7 AM, the light switches to "on only when scanning".

3.    The device must read not only QR codes but also barcodes on ID cards. Because ID cards have a protective coating that causes reflection—especially when the light is on—this makes barcode reading harder. To fix this, the light brightness was reduced to 60%. This lowers reflection while keeping enough light for scanning.

After several rounds of debugging, the product met all customer needs and is now being made in large quantities. In 2026, we expect to supply 20,000 to 30,000 units of the HW-1880 QR reader module.