This machine can accelerate recycling of garbage

Clean initiative

 It’s the season for innovation in the City, born out of sheer necessity due to the unprecedented garbage crisis. Entrepreneurs are tapping the potential of technology where recycling is the mantra, thus easing the burden on land  fills.

One such solution is the ‘Automatic Garbage Machine (AGM),’ that can process 500 to 1,500 kg of waste each day, using simple but effective techniques. The machine, comprising a shredder unit and a bailing unit, handles both wet and dry waste. 

It converts organic waste into rich compost and dry waste into reusable solid blocks of plastic and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. The machine is already in use for processing waste in the Belapu and Kaup Gram Panchayats of Udupi district.

The machine, a brainchild of 40-year-old entrepreneur Nidhish Shetty, recently bagged the Amulya award - 2012 under the patent filed category. Shetty gave up his lucrative corporate career in the IT sector in mid-2011 and spent months on end to find a one-stop solution for waste management. The result was the AGM.

Says Shetty, “The wet waste is placed on the conveyor belt of the shredder unit. Then, the shredded waste flows from the shaft into a pit where it is converted into compost within 10-15 days. 

The plastic waste or PET bottles, when fed into the bailing unit, compresses the volume of the bottles by 75 to 80 per cent. They can then be sent to recycling units.” The machine is easy to install, operate and maintain, he said.

Shetty has his hands full with seven to eight orders from in and around Bangalore. He has also secured an order for the machines from two town municipal corporations in Mysore and Mandya districts, worth Rs 8 lakh and Rs 11 lakh, respectively. They will be installed by March 2013. 

Much of the demand is from the builders’ community, apartment owners and NGOs. He plans to take his innovation to other states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa in the coming days. 

However, the entrepreneur has not received a favourable response from the City for the machine, although he is in constant touch with BBMP and NGOs like Saahas. Shetty is all praise for the ongoing ‘Wake up, Clean up Bengaluru’ event. 

“This is the only way to awaken the residents of the City and make them aware of the importance of segregating garbage,” he said.