IIT student provides smart garbage solution

Waste management has become one of the key concerns in the 21^st century world in order to make this world a better place to live in. From sorting out garbage to dumping it properly, all these play a very important role for a clean environment. The most important thing, however, is timely collection of garbage from localities to keep it clean. And to make this process easier, a graduate from IIT Madras has come up with a high tech solution. Mahek Mahendra Shah, a graduate from IIT Madras has developed a smart trash bin which he calls the ‘Airbin’. The Airbin is not an ordinary trash bin and is equipped with a microchip which makes the work of garbage collectors and sanitary workers a lot simpler. The microchip sends and receives signals using wireless technology and also has a sensor which keeps the level of garbage in a particular bin in check. Once it is full, the high tech bin sends a message to the garbage bin owner as well as the garbage collector to clear it before it begins to overflow. Shah says, "Our technology can be fitted to an existing bin or to a fibreglass bin we have designed. The module is based on Lora, a low-power, long-range communication technology. Since it uses less power, the modules can last for 110 days before batteries can be changed". An app called ‘The IoT’ will be linked with the microchip of the bin and will deliver status report of the garbage level and also teach its users on different kinds of waste-management processes for both citizens as well as sanitary workers. Air Bin currently is in its initial stage and trails will begin soon with installation of sensors in garbage bins in Thiruvanmiuyr, Chennai.