The Hindu      19.02.2015 

Garbage disposal goes hi-tech

Deep collection bins for organic and inorganic waste being installed at
Arcot Municipality for better solid waste management. —Photo: C.
Venkatachalapathy

Soon, residents of Arcot Municipality will get to dispose household waste in sensor-fitted deep collection bins.

This
underground waste management system is GPS-enabled and sends alert to
specially-designed trucks when the waste reaches 90 per cent of the bin
capacity.

With this technology from Latvia-based
Green World Group (GWG), which is involved in developing eco-friendly
waste management solutions, garbage disposal and collection is all set
to go hi-tech in the municipality.

In fact, officials said that this was the first time that such a system was being implemented in India.

Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France and Norway have adopted this system of garbage disposal and collection.

The
municipality generates nearly 25 tonnes of waste per day. Under this
project, it plans to install deep collection bins in 60 places, mainly
residential localities, in three phases. In the first phase, bins will
be placed in 20 places.

The Rs.3-crore-project has been taken up under the Self Sufficiency Scheme.

Funds

“We
are pooling Rs. 33 lakh as public share. Of this, Rs. 20 lakh has been
handed over to the district administration. While Rs. 45 lakh is being
provided from the MLA fund, Arakkonam MP G. Hari has allotted Rs. 15
lakh from MP Local Area Development Scheme,” Arcot MLA R. Srinivasan
said.

3 colour-coded bins

Three
colour-coded bins – green for degradable waste, blue for plastics and
yellow for dry waste – will be installed at identified spots. Only 40
per cent of each bin is placed above the surface level, while the
remaining is underground.

There will be one large bin
of three tonne capacity and two smaller ones 1.3 tonnes capacity each,
said Gokulkrishnan J., director-Technical Supports and Operation,
EcoGarb, which is a partner of GWG and is implementing the project.
Representatives from GWG and EcoGarb were on a visit to Arcot last week.

Bags of durable materials

The
bins that are made of linear low-density polyethylene contain lifting
bags made of durable materials in which the waste is kept.

As
of now, two specially-designed trucks are being readied for removing
waste from the bins, he said, adding, “The driver will receive
information through GPS when the waste reaches 90 per cent of bin
capacity. The truck has a compactor and crane. The crane will lift the
bag and empty it.”

This will be networked to a central monitoring system at the municipality office. Cameras will also be installed at the spots.

This
system will pave way for an odour-free environment. “We are also
installing solar-powered lights at these spots so that it is properly
lit,” R. Purushotaman, chairman of the municipality said.

To start with, the bins have been installed at Devi Nagar First Cross (ward no 3) and Vellore Main Road (ward 14).

Officials said they will create awareness among the public on primary segregation of garbage and disposal into these bins.

Mr.
Srinivasan further said that sthey are planning to deploy one women SHG
member at each of the locations to inform the public for at least a
month.

Once all the bins are put in place, the municipality might also do away with the regular garbage bins, officials said.

The newsystem is GPS-enabled and sends alert to specially-designed trucks when waste reaches 90 per cent of the bin capacity