Ever imagined throwing a used plastic bottle inside a waste bin and getting drinking water in return Two students from IIT Bombay have made this possible, in a cool twist to the concept of a vending machine. Final year students Anurag Meena and Satyendra Meena, with their new invention, the Swachh Machine, wanted to tackle two crucial issues — that of waste disposal and the scarcity of purified drinking water.
Juggling lectures, submissions and exams the boys had to burn midnight oil for over 95 days to set this up. “We designed the machine in our hostel rooms and the fabrication and laser work was done at a workshop in Thane. We later assembled the whole machine in our rooms. Currently, the machine is on a pilot run in Chandigarh and Mumbai. The makers intend to take the machine to public spaces and are currently in talks with government organisations and corporate firms for the same. The concept: In collaboration with a start-up Trestor, they have developed a machine that dispenses 300 ml of potable water in exchange of empty plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Final year Physics student Anurag explains the concept. “The idea was to give an incentive to not litter. While conceptualising the design we realised that small bottles and can comprise maximum waste. The machine in its current form accepts bottles and cans with the storage capacity of up to one litre,” he reveals. How does it work Satyendra says, “When you throw in a can or a plastic bottle, the machine crushes the bottle to 1/6th of its original volume and gives water or a digital token in return.” The machine is not converting plastic into water. “It has an inbuilt water purifier and dispenses both cold and room-temperature water when a bottle/ can is thrown in. It has a capacity of eight litres and is replenished from an external source of water once the storage gets over,” he adds.
The digital token: The digital token or trest can be used to purchase water from other Swacch machines or can be exchanged at general stores for wares.
More about the machine: With a storage and recycling unit at the bottom and an RO water filtration unit at the top, the machine is equipped with a 7-inch interactive touch-screen and has Internet connectivity. It costs about rupees 50,000 and CEO of Trestor, Kunal Dixit, says it was worth his buck. “People see dirty bottles and plastic waste strewn all around, but only when they have an empty bottle in their hand do they feel obliged to look for a bin and throw it. I noticed this and thought why not give them an incentive and appreciate their effort. And what better way than to offer them potable water. It’s a basic human need,” he says.
Alert system: The machine also has an NFC and Bluetooth interface for unhindered connectivity and a notification system for administrators to alert them on usage and maintenance. “When the machine reaches 80 per cent of its capacity, an alert is sent to the administrator and the bin has to be emptied. We are also focussing on using solar panels for our next model,” reveals Anurag.
