Since the human being lived in this world, different kinds of waste were produced continuously. In the early years, the common wastes produced were biodegradable. There are no major problems with this since it will decompose over time. As the number of population increases and new inventions were made, the kind of waste produced by humans also increases. Some of these wastes include plastics, glass, metal, papers and many more. Some of waste scattered in the surroundings are recyclable.
But due to improper waste management, these are not optimized. In the current generation, different manual systems are starting to be automated. Waste management was also starting to follow the trend. In other countries, there are automated systems that perform the collection of waste. There are also machine that performs recycling of some waste products. But before the process of recycling, waste must be segregated first. Waste segregation is done by separating the garbage according to their classification.
With numerous kinds of technologies, implementing a system that will do the segregation of waste becomes possible. Conveyor systems and sensors are common technologies used in industry. A conveyor belt or a conveyor is a continuously moving strip which is used to move objects along. This tool is commonly used in large factories for transferring materials. Sensors, on the other hand, are devices that detect the presence or absence of an object, or certain properties of that object, and provide feedback. There are other different kinds of sensor that perform different functions.
These technologies when combine with other technologies will surely lead to inventions of new machines not only for segregating waste but also for different purposes. 1. 1 Background of the Problem Waste, has remained to be the most visible and dangerous environmental problem in the country. Due to a growing population, rapidly increasing consumption and increasing urbanization, waste generated in the Philippines is estimated at 35,000 tons per day. According to some reports, Metro Manila produced about 8,400 to 8,600 tons of trash per day.
That volume already accounts for about 25 percent of the country’s daily solid waste generation. [ALVE2011] Despite of the large volume of garbage in the country, only 12 percent of the waste is recycled and re-used per year. That 12% of recycled wastes are comprises mainly of the materials sold to the junk shops. The low percentage of reused and recycled materials is due to non segregation of waste. Trashes are dumped altogether in landfills and leave the segregation part to the people living near the dump site. In that way of living, a statement “there is money in garbage” becomes popular.
This statement was proven by numerous businesses that earns from trash. Junk shop is an example of that. This kind of business operates by buying recyclable materials from scavengers and sold those things to the manufacturer of the product. Waste segregation is essential in that kind of business. The operator manually grouped the materials whether it was paper, plastic or metals and calculates its weight to be ready for selling. It takes too much time and effort doing the job. It will be a great help if there will be a machine that can help in sorting those garbage and weigh it automatically. . 2 Overview of the Current State of Technology Selo’s Junk Shop is a large scale junk shop that is operated by Miranda. For 20 years, they have been in the business of trading and selling segregated waste such as metals, papers and plastics to other bigger manufacturing companies and recycling factories. 1. 3. 1 Foreign Studies Selo’s Junk Shop took a long time to complete the whole process of the usual junk shop. From collecting to segregation and then weighting to packing, these are the parts of the system that requires human intervention and efforts.
All these process were done manually up to inventory of the incoming and outgoing wastes. 1. 3. 2. 1 Design and Development of Waste Sorting Machine Nigeria is yet to develop a comprehensive scheme which is required to solve the current and persisting problem of waste management in the country. Whereas the crude methods of sorting wastes practiced may be efficient, it wastes useful time; hence the need for a mechanized sorting machine. An attempt has been made to develop a waste sorting machine, which is conceptualized to sort wastes into light materials, ferrous metals and other heavy materials.
The waste sorting machine consists of a hopper through which the waste is fed through; a fan and air channel through which the light weight materials are separated from the waste matrix; a belt conveyor which carries the left waste towards a magnet-fitted shaft/pulley which separates ferrous metals and also chambers into which the separated components of the waste fall. The machine is designed with the major components being the fan, the belt conveyor and the magnet. Tests carried out on the machine successfully classified wastes into light materials and heavy materials with inability to sort ferrous metals.
Samples of wastes tested weighed 1. 15kg and 3. 53kg. The wastes consisted of an average of 32% of light materials and the time to sort the waste was 65 minutes per unit mass. This machine separates light materials such as paper, nylon, textile and heavy materials similar to nylon, ferrous and non ferrous metal, glass and paper sorted by the machine developed by Falayi in the tear 2007 and the machine designed by Adzimah and Anthony in 2009. [JOLO2011] In comparison with this machine, the proposed project will also use a conveyor belt to move the waste to be segregated from initial position to final position.
But unlike this system that uses air to sort the materials, the proposed project will use sensors to sort the waste according to its category. 1. 3. 2. 2 Sensor System for High-Speed Intelligent Sorting of Waste Paper Sorting paper into compatible grades is necessary step before recycling. Current methods of manually sorting are tedious, slow and expensive. High-speed automation of the sorting process will improve the cost efficiency and increase the amount of paper recycled significantly.
Correct identification of the sample in real time before the sample reaches the actuation situation still remain a challenge because different types of paper and board samples are mixed in a waste stream, and have a lot of variation in terms of color, chemical composition, coating and printing in black and white and color to different degrees. In this paper, key parameters that must be measured are identified, sensor system designs are discussed and integrations of the output are described. The machine used various kinds of sensors for sorting automation to distinguish physical characteristics and optical properties of paper.
Some of the sensor used are stiffness sensor, lignin sensor and color sensor. Results show that the sensor system is capable of identifying the sample at 90% accuracy compared to manual identification. [RAMA2012] In comparison with this machine, the proposed project will segregate not only papers, but will also identify plastic and metals from each other. Both the proposed project and this study use various kinds of sensor for the sorting process and will use a conveyor for moving the waste. 1. 2. 2Local Study 1. 2. 2. 1 Green Bag and Color-Coded Trash Bins
The Green Bag is a national program for SM, the biggest mall chain in the country. This program was launched simultaneously in SM Malls, including SM City Cebu. It aims to reduce single-use plastic bags given to customers of the department store and supermarket. Now the bag can be bought without any purchase needed from any of the stores. This July, the malls have also launched the My Own Bag (MOB) Campaign wherein the shoppers are encouraged to bring their own bag in the grocery. Aside from the Green Bag, color-coded garbage bins are also placed through the mall to encourage mall goers to segregate.
The proper solid waste segregation includes using separate containers for biodegradable, non-biodegradable, domestic hazardous and bulky wastes with markings to distinguish the type of wastes inside, and segregating for re-use, recycling and composting. It is also part of SM’s ongoing environmental information campaign. [BALL2009] This system and the proposed project both aims to segregate waste product. But unlike this system, the proposed project will automate the process of sorting thru the use of different sensors in identifying the types of material and conveyor belt for moving the waste. . 3 Project Rationale 1. 4. 2 The Users The proposed system will benefit the users in such a way that segregation and weighing of waste will be at ease. Since it will be done by the system automatically, the burden and works of the users will be lessen. And also, through this system, inventory of the in and out waste can be automatically tallied and computed. 1. 4. 3 The Researchers This study will be a great help to the future researchers who will make use of MCU and different kinds of sensors.
This will also serve as a guide in making a project that will relate hardware and software specifically the database. 2. 3. 3 The Proponents The proponents are also one of the major beneficiaries of this study. This project will be a key to acquire knowledge that will surely enhance the skills of the proponents. This study will be their first step in taking the path to the field of IT and engineering. 2. 3. 4 The Field of IT and Engineering This study will benefit the field of IT and Engineering for this will be a stepping stone towards the new discoveries and development of technologies.
