The municipality of Başakşehir, a district on Istanbul's European side, turned to a technological solution to cut the costs of garbage collecting and solve the problem of overloaded garbage dumpsters. Thanks to a system developed by the municipality, garbage is now stored in underground containers connected to a small garbage can on the ground that allows for more garbage storage and less pollution in the immediate environment of dumpsters.
Each container has a volume of 3,200 liters, five times larger than the previously used dumpsters, and is linked to computers in the municipality where staff members can monitor the amount of trash in the dumpsters. When the dumpster reaches its full capacity, monitors dispatch a garbage truck to the area. It replaces "patrolling" of dumpsters by garbage collecting teams, efficiently cutting fuel costs for trucks. Garbage trucks equipped with robotic arms that can easily handle the large containers and be operated by the truck driver also cut costs for hiring garbage-collecting teams.
The municipality installed the new containers in 500 locations around the district and hopes the system will be adopted throughout Turkey's largest city where streets strewn with garbage was a common sight in the 1990s.
Selçuk Temel, IT director of Başakşehir Municipality, said rapid population growth necessitated innovation in waste management. "It helps us to cut costs for everything, from fuel to employing garbage collectors to time," he said. "It is an environmentally-friendly system, making garbage collecting a faster and less problematic process. It also helps ease traffic as our trucks do not block roads unnecessarily," he says.
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