As rapid global urbanisation is expected to peak by 2050, the need for smart and sustainable infrastructure to effectively manage and combat urban waste has become increasingly urgent. This study addresses the critical issue of waste management in expanding cities through the proposal of a novel wireless sensor network (WSN) aimed at optimising waste collection and processing by assisting contemporary procedures through the integration of recent advances in networking and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). To investigate the efficacy of our proposals, various assessments and analyses within the Cooja network simulator are conducted. In conjunction with this, a real-life case study of major transport stations within Whitechapel, London is also considered to provide enhanced insight into the network’s effectiveness. The developed model demonstrates the system’s capability of enhancing waste collection services with a minimal average transmission delay of 125 ms experienced across all simulated nodes. Finally, the paper provides all simulation and node source code, encouraging future development and refinement in smart waste management and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, enabling future integration with artificial intelligence for further optimisations.