“Plastic bottles clog drainage channels and in houses water gets logged in broken bottles causing diseases. Plastic bottles are a menace to the environment and to reduce their dumping, they can be put in the smart dustbins for some rewards,” said Palaniswami. In the first phase, the smart dustbins would be setup in shopping malls, theatres and in places where people crowd such as bus stands and railway stations. The project is implemented by a private firm, Golden Star Innovation Pvt Ltd, based in Chennai.

According to the private company, the dustbin requires 4x4 space and has the capacity of holding a maximum of 2,500 bottles. When a person drops a bottle or aluminium can, a list of gift hampers would be displayed on the screen and the person can select from the gift hampers.

Generally, the gift hampers would be from the shops located nearby for the ease of users to exchange on the spot. In case of shopping malls, the gift hampers of the shops present inside the mall would be displayed on the screen and the users can select the coupons they want.

However, bottles with water and aluminium cans with soft drinks would be rejected by the censors present in the smart dustbin. The machine willreject the water bottles and cans outside and the users had to empty them before dumping them again.