2025-11-15 –, Area
OpenWasteMap (https://openwastemap.uk) is a civic project mapping Household Waste Recycling Centres across the UK using OpenStreetMap. This talk explores how we built a tool from fragmented council data, using open mapping infrastructure and collaborative standards to make waste disposal data more accessible, consistent, and useful to the public.
OpenWasteMap began at a Code the City hack weekend, aiming to solve a simple but widespread problem: where can people recycle or dispose of waste? Local authority websites vary in quality and consistency, and there was no single place to view this data clearly. We set out to change that.
Using OpenStreetMap and Wikidata to map Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) across the UK, OpenWasteMap combines open geographic data with civic tech principles to build a usable, public-facing tool. The application was built using .NET and Leaflet.js, while data collection involved scraping, cleaning, and aligning local data with OSM tagging conventions.
This talk will cover how the project was conceived, the technical and data challenges faced, how OSM and Wikidata were brought together, and lessons learned from trying to model waste infrastructure in a collaborative mapping ecosystem. It will also reflect on sustainability and reuse, and where the project might go next, including potential integration with standards like Open3R.
Whether you're interested in tagging infrastructure, building civic tools, or understanding real-world reuse of OSM data, this talk offers insights from a messy but rewarding mapping journey.
waste,recycling,environment,council,infrastructure
Jack Gilmore is a software developer with over 6 years of experience working in public sector digital services. Originally from Aberdeen, he graduated with a first-class BSc (Hons) Computing Science and Spanish from the University of Stirling. Jack currently works as a Senior Platform Engineer at NHS Education for Scotland, where he works on secure, cloud-first software solutions that support critical healthcare services. Beyond his professional role, he co-founded Open Data Scotland, advocating for transparent and accessible data publishing. He is also the co-founder of the Dundee Data Meetup, bringing together professionals and enthusiasts to discuss data, technology, and innovation in the Tayside region.