New Town will soon have hi-tech Smart bins

In an initiative to beautify the area, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) plans to install artificial intelligence-based sensor-fixed dustbins across New Town, which will prevent overflowing of waste once they reach capacity. Officials said each dustbin will have an internet-of-things (IOT) device fixed on it.

“The device will act as an ultrasonic sensor. Once the waste almost reaches optimum level inside the bin, the lid will close. After this happens, the control room will receive a message that the particular bin has reached its optimum level and garbage carrying vehicles will reach the spot to collect the waste from the bin,” said an official.

Officials said that the IOT device will also help optimize the use of the bin.

“For example, there may be some places where the dustbins are not much used. The IOT device will send a message to that effect and they can then be moved to places which do require them,” said an official.
To begin with, the authorities plan to install around 50 such dustbins on different spots off the Main Arterial Road from Nazrul Tirtha to Rabindra Tirtha. “We are waiting to get the technology to implement the plan,” the official added.

The authorities have also set a target to start the pilot project to make the township’s markets plastic free from the first week of March, starting with CB Block. The market has about 25 stores and the authorities have spoken to the traders about replacing plastic bags with paper or jute. Awareness drives will also be conducted at the market complex.

Officials said there are about 10 markets across New Town under NKDA and the plastic-free campaign will be conducted at all the other markets once the pilot project at CB Block market is successfully completed. “A project report is being prepared with the cost to introduce jute or paper bags and make the market plastic-free,” said an official.

NKDA has already introduced waste segregation at source scheme in New Town, where biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste is separated at source at the household level.