Teen innovators: 15-yr old offers answer to waste management crisis

Geetu Vaid

Huge “mountains” of waste have become a common sight in our cities. It is a sad fact that waste management programmes have not been able to keep step with the rapid pace of urbanisation in our country. A look at the figures reveals that municipal areas in India generate a staggering 1,33,760 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) daily, with only 91,152 tonnes collected and a mere 25,884 tonnes treated. One of the biggest challenges in treating waste is sorting and categorising it effectively.

In the backdrop of these dismal facts, it is heartening to note that a teenager’s innovation is offering a solution to the “waste crisis”. The ray of hope is offered by a 15-year-old student of Class XI from Gurugram.

Arush Nath, a student of Pathways School, Gurugram, has invented world’s first Solar-Powered AI Waste Sorting Bin — SAWT. This innovative device automatically categorises trash into recyclable or organic waste, easing out the waste management issue.

In an interaction with School Tribune, he shares his experience and future plans. Excerpts:

What was the inspiration for the idea?

While travelling on the outskirts of Gurugram, I remember vividly seeing a peculiar mountain, which grew bigger and taller, each time I passed it. The curious child in me led me to ask my mother one day, what it was? She told me that it was not a mountain — but a landfill created from our city’s waste. This was the very same Bhandwari landfill that today stands at 38 metres tall and spreads over 33 acres.

In 2022 summer, I attended two summer programmes — the Brown Solar Energy & Engineering Pre-college programme and the Inspirit AI programme. During these came the realisation that improper waste sorting was one of the causes of such huge landfills. To automate this waste-sorting process, I created SAWT — the world’s first Solar-Powered AI-Enabled Waste-Sorting Trashbin.

What were the challenges that you faced while designing this system?

During the process of creating SAWT, I faced multiple technical challenges. While I had a basic understanding of solar power and artificial intelligence through my education at Brown University and Inspirit AI, building SAWT demanded a higher level of technical aptitude and on-ground experience. Thus, I had to deepen my knowledge in fields such as Vision AI, Microcontrollers, Photovoltaics, and Python Programming. I also had to solve integral technical problems such as improving the accuracy of the waste-sorting AI and coming up with an effective pulley system for depositing waste. Not only this, but I was also faced with entrepreneurial challenge such as raising funding for the creation of the prototype.

When I talk about a “Solar AI Waste-sorting Trashbin”, some people feel it’s excessive to put a microcontroller and battery in a dustbin, but this mindset is because we aren’t aware of the major waste management crisis that we face today.

What is the concept on which SAWT is based?

SAWT is a product that aims to solve the massive waste management problem in India by automating the process of humans having to categorise waste into its respective bin before disposal.

SAWT operates by leveraging the YOLO-v8 vision AI model, trained on over 45,000 images, to distinguish between recyclable and organic waste.

The whole system is powered by a solar panel and battery generously sponsored by Livguard to ensure functioning of the product in remote locations by eliminating reliance on electricity from the grid.

What impact will it have on environment?

Harnessing the power of the Sun, SAWT functions completely using a Solar Panel & Battery eliminating the need of electricity that would otherwise come from fossil fuels. By minimising the mismanaged-waste, and hence the carbon footprint of the community, a clean future for the city is ensured — creating a sustainable production and consumption cycle.

What are some of the things that you are passionate about as a student?

I have developed various distinct interests. My interest in technology sprouted in Class V — I used to love creating presentations through different software, this later evolved into participating in international robotics competitions, learning numerous programming languages and developing a keen interest in the world of electric vehicles, solar energy and AI.

My other interests include the playing the piano and debating. Over the years, piano has become a means for me to unwind. On the other hand, debate has helped me hone my logical reasoning and public speaking skills. I have also won multiple awards in both national and international competitions in the same.

Any future plans?

Now that I have been able to observe the performance of the market-ready SAWT prototype, I am currently in the process of acquiring funds to build 25 more SAWT machines which will be implemented in select locations to be tested in the real-world. Finally, after this phase, further improvements would be made to the product which will be licensed to an organisation that will implement SAWT at a nationwide level.

In addition to my journey with SAWT, I also wish to start working on tackling other similar issues. On a recent trip to my ancestral home in Varanasi, I noticed the upsurge of religious tourism in the area. While it is amazing that India’s deep cultural roots are finally being brought out to the world, I was worried about the pollution in holy rivers. This brought to my attention the fact that the problem of waste is not confined to land but might also slowly start killing our rivers. Next, I aim to move to the problem of degrading future water quality and come up with similar technical innovations to tackle this issue.