BENGALURU: One of the biggest problem in waste collection by the BBMP is the lack of accountability both on the part of waste collectors as well as the citizens.
A team of engineers and students have just finished a micro-pilot study of 152 properties and 252 families in Domlur Layout where they used tech to track the work done by waste pickers and to monitor the quality of waste and the frequency of disposals of residents.
The study was conducted for three months and ended on September 15. “Through the study we found that monitoring activities greatly increased the efficiency of the work done,” says Wishvesh BS, an engineer who is part of the team that conducted the pilot. The pilot saw a success rate of around 80 percent.
An app called the Waste Samaritan was given to the waste pickers. A QR tag was been given to each family. A waste collectors has to scan it and notify that he is at a particular location. The collector will rate the garbage being given, whether it is well segregated or not segregated at all or whether a family has come out to give the garbage.
He then gives a rating of the garbage collected and then proceeds to the next house. “If there is a garbage dump lying outside a property the waste collector can take a picture and report the same. Although it will take a little bit more time than usual to collect the garbage.
There will be accountability at all levels,” says Wishwesh. Krishna, a waste picker from the Domlur dry waste collection center who was part of the pilot says, “Very often the blame is put only on the waste collectors even though they are doing their duty. We may have knocked on doors several times but no one comes out to give the waste. With the app, even we can have our say,” he says.
The data from the pilot has been put in a cloud based storage and then analysed for future projects. The team behind the tech has also approached the Solid Waste Management Round Table and are hopeful that it will be put in use on a larger scale very soon.