Geo-localisation of infrastructure

Goal: Map important infrastructure by geo-localising it:

  • construction sector: waste infrastructure and extraction infrastructure
  • biomass sector: waste infrastructure and harvesting infrastructure

Approach: You could already have an idea from looking up the actors, where infrastructure is located within your city or just outside the boundaries. If that did not yield any results yet, have a look at the satellite map of your city and locate the infrastructure with keywords. Note: For the layers and sub-layers of waste collection and treatment, and extraction/harvesting, it is mandatory to map the infrastructure. All other infrastructure can be mapped too, but that is optional.

  1. Make a spreadsheet or use this template for geo-localisation with 4 columns: Name | Latitude | Longitude | Material. Tip: It is easiest if you have 3 copies of this spreadsheet, one for each sub-layer (waste collection, waste treatment, extraction(/harvesting)).

  2. Fill in the information for your tables.

  3. Name: State the name of the company

  4. Latitude and longitude: For the format of latitude and longitude, be sure to get them in decimal degrees, NOT degrees, minutes, seconds.

  5. Material: you can note what material is dealt with (organic waste, construction waste, MSW, (and in the case of construction: sand, iron ore or in the case of the biomass sector: vegetables, fish), etc.)

  6. Upload this list and tag it with the ACTORS tag (remember to mark yourself as author, and to give this a creative commons licence).

Do you want to see some examples of what this sheet can look like?

Have a look here at the list of waste infrastructure examples > be sure to type “waste” in the search field.

Or check out the mapped food processing plants in Barcelona

Waste infrastructure

Geo-localisation of infrastructure for waste collection and treatment is important. The video explains why and how various types should be collected such as transfer stations, garbage collection points (drop-off waste depots), recycling plants, incineration plants, landfills etc. Some of these may be located outside of the system boundaries, but in that case it is useful to upload relevant documents to support this finding.

Outline of the video

  • M1:00-1:32: Why it is important to know the location of infrastructure
  • M1:32: The two types of information that we are after
  • examples of mapped waste infrastructure, Beijing, Geneva, and list of more waste infrastructure examples > be sure to type “waste” in the search field.
  • M3:47 - 4:16: The information that needs to be uploaded
  • M4:17 - 4:46: How to include this info: Either with a shapefile or you can make your own list. You can use this template.
  • Example of finding waste infrastructure of Apeldoorn

Extraction Infrastructure

This section and video outlines how to find information on the extraction infrastructure of construction materials. It deals mostly with mines, since that is the respective dominant infrastructure.

Outline of the video

  • The focus is on identifying and locating extraction activities such as sand, gravel, iron, and other materials used in the construction sector. -The goal is to create a map with information on extraction activities, including mines and mining infrastructures.
  • Extraction activities are relatively easy to find due to strict environmental regulations and reporting requirements.
  • The format of mine locations can be shapefiles, if the shapefile does not exist creating an excel sheet with names, latitude, longitude in decimal degrees (not degrees) minutes, seconds of extraction sites could be used.
  • Useful converter for GPS coordinates you can check: https://gps-coordinates.org/coordinate-converter.php
  • Data can be found from

Harvesting Infrastructure

In the case of the biomass sector, other geo-localisation of actors should be gathered, namely those of the harvesting infrastructure.

Outline of the video

  • Initial scan of sectors will reveal if this topic applies
  • Check what kind of physical infrastructure exists to support
    • (1) Agriculture: farms;
    • (2) Forestry: plantations;
    • (3) Fisheries: fleet, port, fish farming;
  • M1:56: Sources for data
  • M3:47 Examples
  • M6:42 Overview of what we look for
  • M7:11 4 types of information that we are looking for (as for every infrastructure)