New mobile app may help in revolutionising waste management

Is it possible to improve the efficiency of waste collectors and generators through a mobile-based application?

Thanks to the efforts put in by Waste Impact and Indian Institute of Science in the form of a Waste hackathon, a team of engineers under the name ‘Waste Samaritans’ is showing the way towards better waste management.

The mobile app is a result of thorough discussions with waste collectors to understand the ground realities. It interconnects stakeholders using a new monetization system and gamification, says Manoj Sanker, an employee of Infosys who developed the app with the help of his teammates.

How it works

The app would help the waste collector weigh the waste generated by each household with the help of Bluetooth connectivity. The rating option (points) allows the waste collector to review the quality of waste segregation. It will also notify at what time the waste collector will arrive to collect the garbage, making waste collection easy.

The app has other features like a QR code scanner, virtual weighing scale display, an option to rate the trash collected, viewing data logs (history) and attendance or adherence tracking, among others.

Sanker said the data collection and storage would help as a analysis platform for civic agencies, citizens and researchers. The government can give incentives for sustainable segregation like monetary rewards for staunch segregators and those practising minimal waste-generation, he said. He pointed out that the data analytics platform will fetch details of the waste generated and ward-wise waste generation.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Anselm Rosario, a waste management expert, said that this app, which has been developed keeping in mind the waste collectors attached to nearly 175 dry waste collection centres, could be replicated for the entire city. There are 4,000 waste collectors working for these centres, but there are many more who would be benefitted in the long run. “There is a tendency to look down upon the work done by waste collectors. The app will hold the waste collector and generator accountable,” he said.

Gayithri Handanahal, trustee of Waste Impact, said that this app would be further developed in the next 45 days based on suggestions by the juries. About 36 teams are working on different ideas in waste management and will come together in the next month for a presentation. “We will then call for investors to fund the best projects,” she said.