Design for Sensor based Waste Segregator System
Shubham Bhavin Patel · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology · 2020
The effects of growing population, urbanization, and industrialization has started showing its detrimental effects on the environment as well as the human being.The rising waste generation is the direct consequence of population explosion.The waste generation rates are attaining new records every year and is a tickling bomb for mother earth and human beings.Integrated solid waste management is a technique for effective management of solid waste across all levels of waste management process.The segregation of waste is the first and the most crucial stage of solid waste management process.The segregation of the waste can be done either at the source of waste generation i.e. households, commercial establishments etc. or at the waste processing site or disposal site.The mixed waste becomes difficult to handle and manage because of its non-uniform composition.Waste is generally sorted using manual operations like employing the ragpickers to segregate the waste, but this turns out to be an intensive process in terms of both labor as well as cost.Due to high input costs involved in the segregation of wastes, many urban local bodies, municipal authorities and waste management agencies restrain themselves from segregating the waste and opts for direct disposal of waste which not only increases the toxicity burden on the land but also on the environment as poorly managed landfill sites are potential sources of land, air and water pollution.However, newer techniques for waste sorting is gaining momentum which is automatic sorting of waste by the means of sensor, the device used for automatic waste sorting is called as waste segregator.If the waste gets sorted at source, it will result in increased efficiency of solid waste management process, better waste recovery and waste recycle rates, lower carbon footprint and greenhouse gases emissions.There is a need to design a cheaper waste segregator system which should be financially viable enough to be adapted at office levels as well as household levels.In the present study, a design for the waste segregator system has been proposed which can sort the dry waste into glass, paper, plastic and metal by the means of sensor.The design proposed can be used to sort the waste at the source of waste generation like in the commercial establishments, households etc. and can turn out to be a de-centralized approach to waste sorting.