BMC to install sensor-fitted garbage bins in pits in Mumbai

In a bid to curb the stink emanating from garbage bins placed in the open in several parts of the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to install them in pits specially dug for the purpose. Four such bins, fitted with sensors that will alert civic personnel when they get filled up, will be installed in different spots in South Mumbai as part of a pilot project.

The Solid Waste Management department of the BMC has put out a tender inviting firms to install the four bins. A BMC official said that the first round of the project, expected to be completed by the end of the year, would be extended to other parts of the metropolis depending on its success.

“Garbage dumps kept in the open stink up the entire area. They are also an eyesore. Moreover, such underground bins will curb health issues that rise from the garbage that gets piled up in bins kept in the open,” the official said. Explaining how the system will work, he said, “Pits will be dug and these bins will be lowered into them. People can dump garbage into them and when they fill up, a sensor fitted in the bin will alert BMC personnel responsible for clearing them. The garbage will then be removed and sent to a landfill.”

He added that one of the issues the civic body might face while installing these bins in pits is underground utilities. The civic body, in its Budget for 2018-19, had laid emphasis on installing smart sensor-fitted bins.