The Rourkela Municipality takes the QR-code approach for Waste Management

The Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) is probably doing way-ahead things than any other cities in India to streamline the garbage collection process. In an effort to ease the door-to-door collection process, and to make sure the cleanliness of the public toilets throughout the city, RMC is likely to launch a QR code enabled waste monitoring system which will be covered under its Advanced Waste Management operations.

The implementation of the project will initially cover around 10,000 homes and buildings, including public toilets, expected to commence within a week time. The Municipal body will have an eye on the collection of properly segregated household waste, which eventually will be subjected to processing at material recovery facilities and micro-composting centres.

The idea of taking the QR code-based monitoring system approach came when the civic body started receiving a lot of complaints around improper waste collection practices being done across the city, said RMC Commissioner Dibyajyoti Parida.

The QR-based approach will also help in improving the city's ranking position in the national cleanliness survey, Dibyajyoti Parida added. He said that the QR code tags will be fixed on individual homes and buildings.

Under the QR system, the Apartment and the flats will be considered as a single entity and will be provided with a common QR code. Sanitation workers working in their respective wards will scan the QR code on their mobile phones in order to collect relevant data and the same will be monitored at RMC’s control room. “If a worker fails to scan the QR code or does not collect garbage from any household, we will know it immediately,” Parida said. The QR code tags fixed at community and public toilets will be equipped with a feedback system, enabling users to rate their experience and highlight the sanitation status of the toilets.