The city of Bengaluru alone generates over 5000 tons of Waste. However, only 30% of the waste is collected by the BBMP directly. The rest is collected and transported through contractors, says a 2016 report titled ‘Solid Waste Management in Bengaluru-Current Scenario and Future Challenges’.
Over the years, the city and its civic body have struggled with inadequate and unsanitary landfills, thanks to which tons of municipal solid waste lies unattended in open dumps – threatening the health of residents.
After several (failed) attempts to solve the city’s waste management issues, the state government has now decided to turn to technology to ease its woes. This involves the introduction of smart bins and waste transfer stations across the city.
Representational Image only. Source: Wikimedia Commons
According to the Times of India, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has received a green signal from the Urban Development Department to set up ‘smart bins’ across the city and further plans to set up automated Transfer Stations too.
What is a smart bin?
Smart bins are installed with sensors that send out a signal once garbage fills up to its brim. This signal will be communicated to contractors regularly to ensure timely clearance.
The BBMP ran a pilot project to test these smart bins at the Vidhana Soudha and Cubbon Park, the success of which helped civic authorities plan an expansion of the scheme across the city.
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The plan of action also includes setting up Waste Transfer Stations in over 50 locations in the city. This will also help in the timely clearance of waste in a systematic manner, to avoid the overnight piling of garbage.
Speaking to TOI, BBMP Commissioner, Manjunath Prasad said that these transfer stations will have compressors and will be filled with all the garbage collected by the civic body’s pourakarmikas and contractors.
“This compressor will drain out the liquid, which will flow into the drainage system. This will reduce the weight of the garbage and kill the odour. It will then be transported to our compost units,” he said.
The idea is to set up these stations at locations infamous for the piling of garbage. Hopefully, this move by the Karnataka state government and the BBMP will mark the beginning of a new (successful) chapter in the city’s waste management.
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