Bin will tell when it needs to be cleared
BMCs dustbins will be fitted with radio frequency interface devices to alert garbage collection squads on ones that need to be emptied …….SUDHIR SURYAWANSHI
Municipal dustbins will soon be fitted with radio frequency interface device (RFID) that will give garbage collection squads information on which bin needs to be emptied.
The solid waste management department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is responsible for clearing around 10,000 community and 6 lakh housing societies bins. It is difficult to manage such a large number of bins. We had come up with the idea of RFIDs some time ago, but the proposal was delayed because of technical difficulties, said an official.
One problem, according to officials, was the cost. The cost of each RFID is around Rs 50 and each month 10 per cent of the tags will have to be replaced because they will get soiled or damaged. The entire project, including fitting and maintaining the devices, will cost around Rs 50 crore annually.
The software used in the system will enable BMC officials to know when the bins are cleared. Each tag will have numbers and it will be connected to the BMC data centre that will receive information from the RFIDs on the status of the bins. By entering the code number, officials will be able to know whether a bin in a particular area requires to be cleared, said an official.
Vijay Balamwar, chief of BMCs information technology cell, said they had asked Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to study the viability of RFID technology for garbage collection. Their report says that it is viable. Hence, we will clear the proposal with some modifications.
Samajwadi Party corporator Mohsin Haider welcomed the proposal. But I doubt whether this technology will work in Mumbai. Most of the time, civic officials visit foreign countries and bring back weird ideas that hardly work in India. The BMC can bear the cost of tags in community bins, but why should it bear the cost of attaching RFIDs to bins in housing societies? I fear people will start stealing this device and sell it in the black market. Better to opt for some technology that is tamper-proof. Otherwise, the proposal will fail.
BMC is responsible for clearing around 10,000 community and six lakh housing society bins