Waste disposal goes digital as Jamshedpur gets smart dustbins

E-dustbins, launched in the city, are fitted with sensors which send alerts to a central command room when they are 75% full.

Municipal waste management has now become smart, with garbage collection and disposal going digital in Jamshedpur, the first city in the country to do so. Jamshedpur Utility Services and Company (Jusco), a Tata Steel subsidiary, launched e-dustbins in the city. These dustbins are fitted with sensors which send alerts to a central command room when 75% full.

E-dustbins, launched in the city, are fitted with sensors which send alerts to a central command room when they are 75% full. (Illustration: Abhimanyu Sinha)

Jusco managing director Ashish Mathur launched the services on Sunday.

“We’ve fitted 325 dustbins with sensors and linked those with the computers at the control and command centre. The sensor will record the level of garbage in the bins and from the control and command centre, we can know about the overflowing waste bins in the city,” Gaurav Anand, Jusco chief, environment and sustainability, told HT on Monday.

“This technology will enable us to take proactive planning and decisions in garbage haulage. This will also minimise littering on the roads and save unnecessary movement of waste-picking vehicles, saving time, fuel and reducing pollution. This is first of its kind in India and we hope for about 40% savings. We are also exploring other digitisation possibilities for smarter waste management system,” he added.

“In the first phase we’re starting door-to-door waste collection in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode at rates varying between `20-80. In the second phase, the plan is to produce compost fertiliser and bio-gas, reducing consumption of energy. The city generates about 300-350 tonnes of waste daily,” JNAC special officer Deepak Sahay said.