by Tejas Sateesha Hinder and Arushi Bhagotra 26 June 2022
Introduction
A city is considered smart when it uses modern technology to provide services and to develop, deploy and promote sustainable development practices to address growing urbanization challenges.
The world at present is seeing a continuous emergence of smart cities, and such cities are expected to reach 88 in number by 2025, from just 21 in 2013.
A challenge to aspiring smart cities however is waste management. Globally over 2.1 billion tonnes of urban solid waste every year, with at least 33% not being managed responsibly, and is expected to exceed 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050, more than double population growth.
Delhi, the capital of India, one such city on the route to become a smart city, sees implementation of its Solid Waste Management (“SWM”) Bylaws for garbage separation at source in just 32% of the city’s 294 wards, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2020-21, due to non-uniform technological availability, accessibility and implementation. To cope with this amount of waste, traditional waste management systems are and will not be sufficient to protect the populations health and the environment.
Internet of Things (“IoT”) can come handy to solve the issues affiliated with traditional methods of waste management. Means in this regard include Public Bin Level Monitoring Unit that collect data about the trash bin’s unfilled level and location and can send it directly to the garbage collection authority or Smart Waste Bins can recognize and classify waste, compress it, and alert sanitation staff to fill levels for each waste category.
International Sustainable Practices: IoT as a Tool for Waste Management
The use of smart bins and methods of e-waste management are becoming advent vis-à-vis IoT.
End sensor nodes from the Public Bin Level Monitoring Unit and Home Bin Level Monitoring Unit are employed to track bins in public and household areas, respectively. They collect, process, and communicate data on the trash bin’s filling and space for storage, through the bin’s ultrasonic sensors, after which it is transmitted to a central system over LoRAWAN, SigFox, or NB-IoT networks. Using an intuitive Graphical User Interface, the garbage collection authority can view and assess the unfilled status of each waste bin, and the operator can then create an efficient path that ensures cleaning of only the full bins.
A shift to Smart Waste Management (“SWM”) vis-à-vis IoT comes with the following benefits:
- Time and cost efficiency;
- Sustainability (through optimization of waste collection route)
Smart cities employing IoT for waste management notably include Newcastle and Seoul, which have seen significant reductions in their use of waste collection trucks and waste collection expenditures, respectively.
In Newcastle, a seemingly innocuous innovation in smart garbage management using IoT reduced the number of resources (trucks, etc.) required to collect and dispose of their waste by 50%, lowering the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by an astonishing 49%.
As part of Seoul’s smart trash solution, Clean Cubes, a solar-powered garbage compaction container with embedded sensors, were installed. This technique has resulted in an approximate 85% reduction in Seoul’s garbage collection costs.
Delhi: Where does it stand?
According to the Delhi 2021 Master Plan, the problem of solid waste management is escalating owing to rising population, urbanization, changing lifestyles, and consumption patterns.
The existing solid waste management operations in Delhi and other Indian cities are based on a standardized model of trash flows that, does not accurately reflect the actual situation. In India’s recent SWM policies, there has been a strong push for PPP and capital-intensive technologies, one of which is the Waste to Electricity (“WTE”) technology, which involved collection of garbage by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (“MCD”) for processing and energy recovery. Since 2012, the WTE facility in Okhla, which has a capacity of 2500 metric tons (MT) and can generate 16 MW of power, has been active.
Carbon credits, free land, cash for generating per MW electricity, and subsidies are among the four types of incentives available to WTE plant operators in Delhi.
While it is true that the lack of alternatives for landfill sites led to the development of WTE, its supporters later marketed it as a renewable energy solution with the goal of obtaining carbon credits. Additionally, the Senior Environmental Engineer of DPPCC, who is in favour of a WTE-based solution, claims that as westernisation progresses, WTE facilities will be successful in Indian cities because of a shift in consumption patterns that favours the use of processed and packaged goods. Waste’s moisture content is dropping but its calorific value is rising. Currently, 30-35 percent of garbage is recycled, 15-20 percent is delivered to a composting facility, and the remainder is dumped in landfills. However, owing to unwarranted rates of dumping of garbage remaining unaccounted, coupled with unchecked rates of pollution due to burning, the WTE method has been doing more harm than good.
The main indication that WTE facilities are unable to reach the required temperatures is the bottom ash, which is composed of partially burnt or unburned plastic as well as organic material like wood and rags. It is reasonable to infer that about 40% of the roughly 5,000 tonnes being burnt in Delhi end up as bottom ash and fly ash in the three waste sites, undermining the aim of incineration. As a result, the plants become substantial waste generators.
The massive amount of toxic gases released by the three companies into the already polluted city air as a result of the unsorted waste being burned at low temperatures is not taken into consideration.
The way forward
The world depends on technology. Smart technology and long-term development are related, however this is not a futuristic theory. The Internet of Things (IoT) and more effective, technologically-driven garbage management are in high demand due to these linkages, which are urgent economic realities.
Delhi, which sees itself having substantial infrastructure to support an IoT based system of garbage, has the potential to devise waste management vide SWM systems. Delhi might adopt the Alleypey approach, where locals are responsible for sorting and treating trash at the source. It is the best decentralised trash management technique in the nation. It can also look at Panjim, where the municipal corporation separates dry trash into 30 distinct categories in addition to ensuring segregation at the source. Other cities that are performing outstanding work include Mysuru, Suryapet, Bobbili, and many others. To become zero-waste cities, they have chosen regional rather than global solutions. Cities that are performing excellent job in waste management have been identified by the CSE.
SWM system development necessitates a long-term strategy that prioritizes environmental performance, financial viability, and social equality. A system is a time-bound strategy that involves several stakeholders at various phases of implementation. Regular qualitative and quantitative assessments of activities offer an overview of the project based on the site-specific conditions. These evaluation reports provide a comprehensive picture, assisting regulatory and municipal decision-makers. Since 2016, the Government of India has conducting an annual service level benchmarking (SLB) effort to analyze water and sanitation facilities. One of the key criteria of this SLB is solid waste management.
In both urban and rural locations, the examination of digital applications has had an impact on present systems. Acceptance of a wide range of ICT instruments by society may open the door to developments in information transmission systems. In urban locations, Internet of Things (IoT) applications have enhanced management and behavioral possibilities. For good planning, interactive communication and information sharing are a plus. SWM systems in ULBs can benefit from the integration of decision support, expert, and knowledge-based systems in urban development and ICT. Through scientific research and planning, local governments may assess the performance of waste management systems.