By Aileen P. Refuerzo

 

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Remember the “Basurahang Taraki” (Baraki) or smart garbage bin invention pitched by college students to the city government last year?

The city is set to deploy the first batch of finished products soon in a bid to improve waste disposal practices, according to the General Services Office (GSO) Head Eugene Buyucan.

The baraki trash bin features a motion sensor that detects when an individual stands in front of the bin to place trash and allows it to self-open and close.

It is also equipped with solar-powered electrical wirings that serve as an alarm system to facilitate real-time monitoring of the fill level ensuring timely collection and reducing the burden of manual surveillance. It has a weather proof design and since it is not designed for mixed waste, has a trash detector to refuse wet items, thereby promoting proper waste segregation.

The apparatus was developed by University of the Cordilleras computer engineering students Kyle Rusell Lucero, Aeryk John Mosquete and Samuel Sta. Cruz in 2023 as an innovative invention to help prevent overflowing trash bins.

In July 2023, Mayor Benjamin Magalong and the GSO allowed the students to pilot test their invention at the Rose Garden and when proven feasible, the city decided to adopt the technology and provided support to the students to further develop the invention.

Two of the students were eventually hired by the GSO last June to undertake the project.

Buyucan said four units were fabricated and two are being polished for deployment in strategic places soon.