Crap Bag is an innovative waste management system designed to revolutionize the way we handle trash. With a focus on user hygiene, cleanliness, and safety, our prototype eliminates the need for direct physical contact with the bin, ensuring a seamless and sanitary experience.
In the modern era of rapid urbanization, effective waste management has become a global issue. As science and technology has been emerging at a rapid rate, traditional methods of waste management have been turning into adequate leading to overflow of trash bins, pollution, and compromised public hygiene. The conventional methodologies of waste collection and management typically require rudimentary infrastructure, manual operation and hence are not well suited for the global world. To overcome these problems, we came up with a transformative solution of creating a smart trash bin, that solves the ineffective waste management in the global world.
The current situation of garbage management in this global civilization is too traditional and with inefficiencies and flaws that jeopardize the public health and the environment as well. Traditional waste collection techniques use manual interventions like opening and closing the lid of the dustbin, timely checking if the trash bin is full or not as traditional method of garbage collection do not offer real time visibility of bin fill levels. This allows the public to keep filling the trashcans even after they are full, making them spill on the ground making the surroundings more polluted. Moreover, manual closing and opening of the lids with hand makes using the bin more unhygienic as the transfer of the germs from the bin to hands is unavoidable, making public health riskier to maintain.
Let us take a simple scenario as an example of every household. We have a regular dustbin in our home. Sometimes we are too lazy to empty the trash bin even after the bin is full and we keep dumping more and more into the bin until the bin overflows leading to spilling of the waste in the ground and making it more polluted. We also use our hand to open the lid of the bin, this may make the germs spread into our hands putting our health at risk of spread of various fatal diseases compromising our health and hygiene. The other issue with waste management in dumpsters and large garbage disposal areas is not knowing the level of waste inside the garbage bins. So, the garbage is always filled over its maximum capacity leading to polluted surrounding and dirty.
There has always been an issue with waste management with the growing population making the traditional method of garbage disposal unsuited in the modern world of science of technology where every step of human life is dependent on technology. Every action in human life is dependent on one touch either with smart phones or any tech devices. Hence it is important to upgrade waste management process as well with the use of emerging technologies making human life simpler and convenient and at the same time encouraging sustainable and clean environment.
We used different types of hardware to create the prototype of our project. Below are the lists of hardware we used:
- Arduino UNO x 1
- Servo Motor x 1
- LCD x 1
- Ultrasound Sensor x 2
- Potentiometer x 1
- 10mm LED x 1
- Jumper Cables x 25
- Resistors x 1
Our implementation of the cyber-physical system (CPS) with Arduino Uno and associated components demonstrated successful integration and functionality. Through rigorous testing, we confirmed the seamless operation of the Arduino Uno alongside the ultrasound sensors, LCD, potentiometer, LED, Servo Motor, and other peripherals. We demonstrated the proper responsiveness of the sensor readings, accurate trash level reading and real-time opening and closing of the lid with the help of servo motor. The sensor outside was able to detect the person in its closed proximity and was able to work every time seamlessly. We were able to show the exact reading of the level of the waste inside the can when some trash is added. We also demonstrated that the lid remains closed after the trash can get full inside. The LCD worked perfectly and displayed greetings when the system is turned on and the trash level when we put some trash inside.
Despite encountering minor challenges during testing, we were able to demonstrate implementation and flawless functioning of our system, the Crap Bag. This prototype has proven to be an innovative solution for modern waste management needs. With its "No physical contact" design, the system ensures user hygiene, cleanliness, and safety by eliminating the need for direct contact with the bin. With real-time updates on trash levels, automated lid control, and user-friendly interface, our prototype demonstrates significant potential for advanced waste management practices in the near future.
We implemented a basic Smart Trash Can for this project. But we can obviously implement more than that. Here are some of the future works that can be done and make the Crap bag more appealing and more usable.
We can use mobile apps like Blynk which is a popular platform that enables to create a IoT (Internet of Things) projects easily and efficiently. It serves as the interface through which we can control and monitor the IoT Projects from our smartphones. Since it was a premium version, we couldn't implement it at this time due to lack of money as well as time constraints. Integrating the Crap Bag smart trash can with the Blynk app can provide users with convenient access to real-time monitoring and management of waste levels, enhancing the efficiency and usability of the device. Here's how the Blynk app integration could work, including various features for monitoring waste percentage and other relevant information like Dashboard Display, Waste Percentage Widget or Level, Historical Data Logging, Remote Control and many more.
Our prototype intends to improve the efficiency and adaptability by expanding the functionalities including the cooling and air freshener system to keep down the bad odor and decelerate the decaying process of the degradable waste by adding smart sensors that can detect the temperature and odor.
Another huge feature that we will introduce within our system is the wheels for movement. This addition will take this system to a new dimension of convenience, allowing the trash bin to freely roam around the house or apartment or even the office. When provided some commands like sound or hand gesture, the smart bin will move toward the user. This adds flexibility and comfort will further enhance the prototype's accessibility for individuals of all ages and abilities.