If everything goes as planned, regular garbage bins in 10 wards of Tambaram Municipality will be replaced with those that are called GPS-enabled semi-underground bins, in a month.
The special feature of these bins is their sensor technology which will make them “partners” with humans in waste management. When one of these bins is filled to eighty percent of its capacity, an SMS alert will be sent to the control room as well as the driver of a specially-designed knuckle-boom truck. The location of the bin will also be communicated. The Municipality has launched this project as part of its Swachh Bharat Mission.
At present, these bins have been installed at 130 locations across the 10 wards. These locations have been identified as ‘black spots’. The bins in these locations are waiting for sensors to be fitted. In another week, such bins will be installed in 27 more locations under the Municipality.
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In 2015, five areas – Vidhya Theatre junction, Kurinji Nagar I and III Main Roads, Duraisamy Reddy Street and Kulakkarai Main Road, West Tambaram – were selected for the pilot project.
With the pilot project proving successful, officials of the Health Department identified 157 ‘black spots’ for installation of the semi-underground bins.
In each location, three bins — green for biodegradale waste, white for non-biodegradable waste and a small bin for biomedical waste — are installed.
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“The two waste-segregation bins are one-metre below the ground and three metres above it. The four walls as well as the bottom of the bins are made of galvanised steel; the bins are fire- and water-proof. Each bin costs approximately Rs.5.5 lakh. The overall cost of the project is 8.5 crore,” says a senior official of the Tambaram Municipality.
The Municipality has roped in Zonta Infratech Private Limited, a German-based firm specialising in waste and water management, for the project.
“Our aim is to remove the ‘black spots,’ in the city. Once an SMS alert is received by the municipality staff, garbage from the bins will be hydraulically loaded onto the specially-designed truck. Now, the process of installing sensors is going on and bins must be installed in the remaining locations. The entire process would be completed before the end of July,” says Ganga Maheswari, Assistant General Manager (Projects) at Zonta Infratech.
The locations of installing the bins were carefully chosen after a survey. The bins are placed near commercial and other areas where a high volume of floating population can be expected. Each of the semi-underground bins can hold two tonnes of waste; a biomedical bin can hold 30 litres of waste.
There are plans to set up such bins in places under the Pallavapuram municipality. Talks are also on with the Greater Chennai Corporation for the same. A similar waste managment system is in place in Dharamsala, Paonta Sahib, Jabalpur and Tirunelveli and Bengaluru.
The challenges
The Municipality officials say even if government agencies take such forward-thinking steps, they serve their purpose only if people extend their cooperation.
“During the pilot project, the bins were placed at five places. A few cattle owners in the area threw kilos of cow dung into the bins, thereby hindering the smooth conduct of the exercise. They were warned several times and told they would be fined if they continued to dump cow dung. It took repeated warnings for them to stop the practice. We also fixed CCTV cameras to monitor people who were throwing garbage. We conducted several awareness meetings with residents welfare associations and told them that those throwing garbage outside the bins on a regular basis would be fined. The overall response from residents was good,” says a senior official of Tambaram Municipality. To create awareness about the initiative, the Municipality, with the help of Zonta coordinators, conducts regular meetings with residents welfare associations. The sanitary workers talk to the residents about segregation of waste. There are plans to appoint animators — one animator for each ward — who have to conduct street plays and coordinate with the media and the residents. Soon plans are on to set up such bins in places under Pallavapuram municipality. Talks are also on with the Greater Chennai Corporation.