A group of UGM students developed an innovation to solve waste problems by separating the waste with a machine called Gemilpah.
The students, Faiz Miftakhur Rozaqi, Ma’ruf Hasan, and Isfan Chairuman Nasution, from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, were concerned by the low awareness of society in waste management.
“The idea started from the concern that there were not many people separating the waste. Most of them dumped all kinds of waste into a landfill,” said Isfan on Tuesday (9/7) in a press conference at UGM’s Public Relations Office.
Mixed waste will in fact cause negative impacts such as disease transmission, reduction of soil fertility, pollution, etc.
Starting from this condition, the three students made a waste bin that can separate the waste according to its type automatically. The project was supervised by Drs. Iqmal Tahir, M.Si. as part of the Student Creativity Program that was funded by the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education.
“Gemilpah is equipped with image processing that will help group the waste specifically,” said Isfan.
The image processing will work by separating the waste, identifying the types of the waste based on the images that have been collected by the computer. The image patterns will be interpreted into algorithms, and then the tool instructs it to do the separation.
The prototype has a size of 60x60x50 cm. There are three waste bins in one container that is used based on the waste type, including bottles, glass, and cutlery. Faiz explained the machine works when the trash is thrown into the bin, the camera will immediately identify the type of waste according to the image pattern. The machine will interpret it in the image processing and process it and give responses to open one of the waste bins.
“So, the computer will detect which type of waste comes in, whether a bottle, glass or cutlery. The machine will open according to the waste type,” he said.
Plastic coating is attached at the bottom, allowing easier transportation to the processing plants. With this method, the waste can be shipped according to the destined processing area.
“The use of one container can save room, allowing the people to dump and separate the waste as well as maximizing waste management process,” he concluded.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/18071-gemilpah-mesin-pemilah-sampah-otomatis-karya-mahasiswa-ugm
