Design of Garbage Sorting Machine

Abstract

Problem statement: Domestic waste collection, sorting and disposal are major problems in many developing countries such as Ghana. It is an undeniable fact that the environment has been engulfed in filth. This filth comprises of the garbage and waste generated in homes, workplace and industrial setups. Most of this waste has found its way into the streets, gutters, in and around the homes, dung hills and worst of all, water bodies, many of which are sources of the drinking water treated at high costs or not treated at all. Approach: Garbage needs to be sorted into various components and each of such components like textile materials, polythene, foodstuffs, metals and glassware would then have to be handled separately at the disposal or recycling site. Such a process required a certain degree of literacy, discipline and certain basic equipment, for example separate collector bins or sorting bags. In the developed world this is not much a problem because every home has different polythene bags into which the various constituents of domestic waste are put right at the generation point. Separate collection bins were also provided at vantage points for the various types of domestic garbage collection. In the developing countries these arrangements have not been feasible because of the level of literacy, lack of appreciation of the problem, non-availability of the different types of polythene bags and poverty. Currently, most garbage collection in the developing countries is done by depositing every thing into a single container from where they are hauled to be dumped in landfills or burned in incinerators. Refuse disposal by land filling requires a sizeable land for the sole purpose of refuse disposal. This may lead to (1): Encumbering large tracks of prime land, which could not be put to other uses (2): Pollution of ground water by the leachate from the landfills (3): Breeding of leaches, rodents, mosquitoes and (4): Generation of strong stench coming from the landfills, posing health hazards to communities. Incineration also produces strong odour and smoke. Results: In both methods no component of the waste was recovered for recycling. This is contrary to the practice in the developed countries where waste recycling is a major undertaking to provide raw materials e.g., glass and metal, for industry and thus reduces the exploitation of natural resources. Conclusion: To address the problem in Ghana it is necessary to devise a means of sorting-out the components of domestic waste for recycling into useful components. This study outlined the design and operation of a machine for sorting out garbage into the various components which can be recycled or utilized elsewhere.