It is no secret that technology is rapidly changing our lives and how we interact with people around us. For better or worse, we’ve all become accustomed to technologies seeping into our homes, and neighborhood. The latest in the long list of technologies is an AIDC (Automatic identification and data capture) technology named RFID, short for Radio Frequency Identification.
While RFID uses that we typically see are mostly when we go for shopping in retail stores and pay using debit or credit cards or when highway toll is collected automatically via FASTag on the windshield of our vehicle, and that is the most of it.
Recently, the municipal corporation in the Indian city of Gurugram, Haryana, employed 1,75,000 RFID tags outside people’s houses to make sure that door to door garbage collection is done on regular basis for keeping the city/neighborhood clean. How’s that for RFID application around us.
Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) has also installed some 908 RFID tags on plotted areas, and individual households for waste collection.
What is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology?
RFID is an automatic identification and data capture technology that uses radio frequency signals to communicate and share data between a RFID tagged item and a RFID reader that reads the data for the end user.
The technology is very simple to understand and implement as well. It employs RFID tags, RFID readers and antenna to perform the identification and tracking works. RFID tags are attached to articles that need identification or tracking.
RFID For Door to Door Waste Collection:
RFID, if implemented logically, can be a very versatile technology with automatic identification and data capture at its core. Municipal Corporations, as in the case of Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, can identify households or location where garbage is being collected or the lack it and it can also track if waste collection vehicle passes through every intersection and household in its domain on regular and timely basis by installing RFID antenna and RFID readers at crucial junctions.
A control centre is also set up by MCG to make sense of all the data and check if the system installed is working properly. It can identify irregularities, if any, that might arise in the entire operation.
The operation proposed, in the case of MCG, Haryana is that the garbage collector will go door to door, carrying (Passive UHF) handheld RFID reader and scan every household tag (already installed) and collect the waste. Information on waste segregation can also be collected as needed.
The cost of implementing RFID based WASTE COLLECTION SYSTEM:
The cost of implementing a RFID based door to door Waste Collection system can vary on the scale of the entire operation and other requirements of the project such as training programs for staffs and setting up control rooms, the no. of RFID readers needed for the project, and other such factors.
Since the operation utilizes Passive RFID system, RFID tags used are passive ones (without batteries) and don’t cost much (few rupees/cents per tag). The cost mostly depends on RFID Readers, fixed or handheld type, antenna and cost of setting up a RFID control room.
Advantages of RFID application in door to door waste collection:
The benefits of an RFID based door to door waste collection are huge. It will keep the neighborhood clean and help with waste management in large colonies.
Here are some of the benefits:
1.Timely and regular collection of waste.
2.Data on operation and weak points.
3.Waste segregation data and insights.
4.Clean neighborhood.
5.Automation hence less confrontation between people.
6.Timely waste disposal.
7.Quick disposal of staff members if somewhere waste is not collected etc.
Disclaimer: The information presented here is for general information purposes only and true to best of our understanding. Users are requested to use any information as per their own understanding and knowledge. Before using any of the information, please refer to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
