Chapter 1

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Introduction

Millions of tons of municipal solid waste are generated every day. Urban waste

management is drawing increasing attention, as it can easily be observed that too much garbage

is lying uncollected in the streets, causing inconvenience, environmental pollution, and posing a

public health risk. Proper garbage disposal is important to ensure everyone's safety from possible

health hazards. Solid waste management is the collection, treatment and disposal of solid

materials that are discarded by purpose or no longer useful [ CITATION Igo19 \l 13321 ].

Waste poses a threat to public health and the environment if it is not stored, collected, and

disposed of properly. The perception of waste as an unwanted material with no intrinsic value

has dominated attitudes towards disposal. 

Waste management is one of the major challenges faced by many countries around the

globe. Inadequate collection, recycling or treatment and uncontrolled disposal of waste has been

one of the most vital problem that contributes to pollution. These waste includes plastics, bottles,

metals, dead animals, and any other biodegradable and non – biodegradable materials. Over

93.1% of households disposed of food debris as waste and 77.8% disposed of plastic materials as

waste, 61.0% of the households disposed of their waste at community bins, 39.0% disposed of

their waste in gutters, streets, holes and nearby bushes, and 83% of the respondents were aware

that improper waste management contributes to disease causation [ CITATION yao14 \l 13321 ].
 21

However, despite of the rising problems in our society due to improper waste

management, people are still lacking when it comes to discipline and knowledge about proper

waste disposal.

Local authorities are charged with the responsibility of providing solid waste

management services together with other municipal services. However they find it increasingly

difficult to play this role. The difficulty has been aggravated by lack of effective legislation,

inadequate funds, inadequate facilities and poor leadership within the municipality [ CITATION

Mos17 \l 13321 ]. Due to advancement of human race and also, the lack of monitor from the city

officials, people are not aware that they are not doing the proper way of segregation anymore.

Even though the government provided some trash bins for waste segregation, the citizens always

neglects their duty when it comes to waste management.

With the help of Automatic Waste Segregator device, the time consuming work of

segregating the waste materials will be lessen. It will also enhance the environmental cleanliness

of the society and help conserve energy.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the feasibility of Automatic Waste Segregator as a

device to help in proper waste segregation.

Specifically, it will sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the substantial factors that contributes to improper waste management?

2. What are the environmental effects of Automatic Waste Segregator in terms of:
 21

3. Is there a significant difference between the Automatic Waste Segregator and the usual

way of waste management done by humans in terms of:

a. Time;

b. Accuracy.

Statement of Hypothesis

The following hypothesis was tested in this study.

Null Hypothesis

1. There are no substantial factors that contributes to improper waste management.

2. There are no environmental effects of Automatic Waste Segregator in terms of:

3. There is no significant difference between the Automatic Waste Segregator and the usual

way of waste management done by humans.

a. Time;

b. Accuracy.

Alternative Hypothesis

1. There are substantial factors that contributes to improper waste management.

2. There are environmental effects of Automatic Waste Segregator in terms of:

3. There is a significant difference between the Automatic Waste Segregator and the

usual way of waste management done by humans.

a. Time;

b. Accuracy.

Significance of the Study

 21

It has been viewed that one of the most protuberant problem in the society is

environmental problems concerning improper waste management that leads to pollution. Some

of the reasons why this happens are lack of discipline from citizens, lack of budget and

monitoring from the local government, and lack knowledge in regards to the result of this

undisciplined act. Through this study, it is encouraged to use Automatic Waste Segregator in

doing the proper waste management. With the use of this device, neglected duties as a citizen to

clean the environment and is not acceptable anymore because Automatic Waste Segregator can

be operated without the actual help of humans.

Furthermore, with the help of Automatic Waste Segregator, the problem with waste and

pollution will be lessen.

Scope and Limitation

The general intent of this study is to identify and assess the impact of the Automatic

Waste Segregator to the environment and human lives. The aspects looked into are the

substantial factors that contributes to improper waste management, effects of Automatic Waste

Segregator in the environment, and the difference between the Automatic Waste Segregator and

the usual way of waste management done by humans.

This study limits its coverage on the effects and impacts of Automatic Waste Segregator.

It’s main purpose is to identify on how can the Automatic Waste Segregator can help the human

life and the environment.

Definition of Terms
 21

Automatic Waste Segregator. Robot made to segregate biodegradable materials from

non – biodegradable materials.

Arduino. Open-source electronic prototyping platform enabling users to create

interactive electronic objects.

Biodegradable. Capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.

Non – Biodegradable. Material can be defined as a kind of substance which cannot be

broken down by natural organisms and acts as a source of pollution.

Metal Plates. Flat metal that serves as catch basin of waste before proceeding to actual

segregation.

IDE. Integrated Environment, a software application that provides comprehensive

facilities to computer programmers for software development.

AB Wire. Areal bundled cable, overhead powerlines using several insulated face

conductors bundled tightly together.

Moist Sensor. Use to measure the water content (moisture).

LDR. A component that has a (variable) resistance that changes with the light intensity

that falls upon it. This allows them to be used in light sensing circuits.

Laser. Transmits visible laser light through a lens, towards a target or object. The laser

light is reflected diffusely from the surface of the target, where a receiver lens on the sensor then

focuses that reflected light, creating a spot of light on the linear imager.

IR Proximity Sensor. A multipurpose infrared sensor which can be used for obstacle

sensing, color detection, fire detection, line sensing, and also as an encoder sensor. The sensor

provides a digital output.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Literature

The rising population poses serious threats with regard to the availability of living space,

utilization of natural resources and raw materials, education and employment. However, the

serious problem that follows is the escalating amount of waste generated each second by every

individual. Anywhere is grappling with the menace of ever increasing waste. Uncontrolled

dumping of waste on outskirts of towns and cities can create overflowing landfills which are not

only impossible to reclaim because of the haphazard manner of dumping but also has serious

environmental implications. When viewed on a larger scale, the poor recovery rate has impeded

the growth of the country as well as the economy of the nation.

Waste includes all solid and liquid wastes generated by human activities resulting to

disaster such as flood, climate change and soil depletion. According to World Health

Organization (2011), other specialist wastes, such as medical wastes from hospitals and toxic

waste from different industries should also be needed to deal urgently. The United States

produces 11 billion tons of solid waste each year wherein nearly half of it came from agricultural

waste such as crop residue and animal manure (Environmental Protection Agency).

Recycling plays a vital role in saving the environment. It helps in reducing the wastes

everywhere and therefore saves the environment from too much pollution. The first step to total
 21

waste management is segregation. It is by segregating wastes properly that people can easily

identify which materials are recyclable and which are not. However, people tend to be lazy that

even proper disposing of waste is very hard for them to do.

According to a sanitation survey called Swachh Survekshan-2016 conducted by the

ministry of urban development, it was found that about 50% people in India face the problem of

improper waste collection and management and only 5% of this colossal amount of waste is

recycled, so innovative disposal and recycling methods must be introduced instead of landfill

sites. So, inventions such as Automatic waste segregator for proper management of waste will

surely be effective. Automatic waste segregator categorizes the waste as plastic, metallic or

organic. The monitoring system helps to monitor the waste collection process. The Philosophy of

Waste management Hierarchy has been adopted by most industrialized nations as the menu for

developing Municipal Solid Waste management strategies. Every city is grappling with the

menace of escalating amounts of waste.

Automatic waste segregator like IoT based Waste Collection System using Infrared

Sensors use a modern classification method known as Convolutional Neural Networks to classify

the waste into various categories. This system paves the way to better recycling and reuse

processes that helps in efficient waste management (Tarbell, et.al, 2014). By using the concepts

of Artificial Neural Networks and Image analyzing specifically the image recognition algorithm,

the project is aimed at designing and developing a system that can be effectively utilized to

segregate waste. Another invention was the Spot Garbage which is a smartphone-based

application (Singh, et.al, 2017). It detects a pile of garbage and identifies the location where the

garbage is present by using the location access of smartphones. The app uses the convolutional

neural networks architecture for identifying wastes in images.

 21

Though, such inventions were produced, still, there is lack of support from the

government and other agencies to established this inventions in the community. When it comes

to waste management at a global scale, attention is mostly focused on establishing improved

waste management systems in developing countries, such as collecting and delivering waste to

designated locations under a municipality’s authority and international cooperation (McCornack,

2012).

Local Literature

Waste management is crucial to reducing the negative impacts of waste on the

environment, and its consequences to human beings. It is the goal of waste management to treat

waste in a safe and proper manner, in order to minimize harm or damage to the environment.

Disposal methods such as landfilling are directly related to human health issues, as well as the

environment.

Unsurprisingly, the Philippines generates more solid waste as population increases, living

standards are enhanced, and urban and rural areas are being developed. The country’s waste

generation steadily increased from 37, 427.46 tons per day in 2012 to 40, 087.45 tons in 2016

(Senate Economic Planning Office, 2017). As reported by Guzman et.al, (2010), solid waste

management is one of the most critical environment problems today. In Metro Manila,

approximately 0.6 kilogram per person of garbage is produced with total amount of about 6000

to 7000 tons per day. Despite the fact that not all of these collection system people seem to be

unconcerned with the amount of solid and semisolid waste they produce.

Because of the rapid increase of waste disposal in the Philippines, government

implemented laws that govern proper waste disposal. Republic Act No. 9003 prohibits the use of
 21

open dumps for solid waste disposal and enjoins the Local Government Units (LGU) to convert

their dumps into sanitary landfill.

Moreover, in its Administrative Order No. 50-1998, the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources (DENR) prescribed guidelines for identifying and establishing sanitary

landfill such that, among others: (a) the site should not be located in existing or proposed

residential, commercial, or urban development areas, and areas with archeological, cultural, and

historical importance; (b) the site should not be located in or up gradient of shallow unconfined

qualifiers for drinking water supply; (c) the site should not be located near airports; and (d) the

site should not be located in soft and settling soils.

Related Studies

Foreign Studies

There is no such system for segregation of wastes into categories such as dry, wet and

metallic wastes at the household level (Chandramohan, et.al, 2014). An Automated Waste

Segregator (AWS) can be used at the household level or any public places such school and parks.

The AWS employs inductive sensors to identify material content of the object and capacitive

sensors to distinguish between wet and dry waste depending upon the threshold value set.

Kothari, et.al (2013) used Ultrasonic Sensors to monitor the garbage collection. When the

garbage reaches the sensor level, an interrupt is sent to the microcontroller. Upgradations can be

done to the existing project (Bajaj, et.al, 2013). Advanced processing techniques can be

incorporated once waste has been segregated, methods for individual material feeding for local

use so that the segregation can be performed continuously once the waste is dumped, image

sensing can be used to segregate materials.

 21

Dwivedi, et.al, (2016) propose a solid waste treatment plant for separating plastic, glass

bottles and metal cans from solid waste material. The system uses different capacitive, proximity

sensors to detect each object which is moving on a conveyer belt and segregate into different

bins with the help of hydraulic cylinder flaps. The entire system is controlled by a programmable

logic controller.

Dudhal et.al, (2014) describes paper deals with waste segregation using programmable

logic controller. The system is developed for separating out metal from waste materials. The

system consists of an automatic feed system through which waste is fed into a conveyor belt,

sensors and a robotic arm to which an electromagnet is attached will extract the metal from the

waste and will deposit it into a bin.

Singh, et.al (2015) describes about a smart waste sorting system which automatically

segregate waste into two categories namely degradable and biodegradable wastes. The proposed

system consists of a lid, on which the waste material is placed. There is a sensor which transmits

the signals and that signal is received by the microcontroller, depending on the signal received

the lid of the system works and put the waste into corresponding bin.

Pavithra (2015) describes paper deals with a smart trash system with the integration of

communication technologies like ZigBee, for truck monitoring system. The system consists of IR

sensor to sense the level of trash, gas sensor to sense the amount of toxic gases and ZigBee for

the communication purpose. The technologies which are used in the proposed system are good

enough to ensure the practical and perfect for solid waste collection process monitoring and

management for green environment. The smart trash receptacle, gives a solution for unsanitary

environmental condition in a city. This prevents many diseases caused due the toxic gases

emanating from the overflowing trash can.

 21

Pushpa, et.al (2015) describes paper about microcontroller based automatic waste

segregator. The proposed system uses an inductive proximity sensor to detect metal waste and

blower mechanism to segregate between wet and dry wastes. A simple 8051 microcontroller

forms the heart of the system. It controls the working and timing of the entire sub sections.

Thus, many developed and developing countries have committed to establishing safe and

efficient waste management techniques in their countries, expecting to minimize the negative

impacts of waste on the environment. In Norway, the quantity of waste has increased by 60

percent since 1995. As a result, the country has set national waste targets, the first being that “the

total quantity of waste shall be considerably lower than the economic growth,” as indicated in the

national waste strategy report (The Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency, 2013; 11). For

instance, UNEP (2011: 302) blames landfills for generating methane as the largest source of

GHG emissions, caused by the anaerobic degradation of organic material in landfills and

unmonitored dumpsites. Like this, waste management is deeply connected to consumption,

resource utilization, environmental problems, and human health.

Prevention is at the top as the most desirable method, and disposal is the least desirable,

due to its environmental impacts. If a waste management focuses primarily on disposal methods,

then it can expect to produce more negative impacts to the environment than other managements

relying on recycling and reuse methods. Clark and Matharu (2013: 67) describe that globally,

solid waste management costs will increase from today’s annual $205.4 billion to about $375.5

billion in 2025. Also, energy recovery and recycling become the most promising strategies being

discussed, as another way to utilize waste efficiently as resource (City of Oslo, 2013; The

Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency, 2013).

 21

Local Studies

Plastic outflows into the Philippine oceans are from garbage which was 74% as shown in

the study. The Philippines generates about 35,000 tons of garbage daily (Sakr, et.al, 2016) and

the most common garbage thrown are plastic, paper and kitchen waste (Carullo & Parvis, 2016).

In addition, 81% of plastic garbage was thrown from land into the ocean (Mittal, et.al, 2016).

From this study, there are two reasons why there is leakage of collected garbage: one is the

illegal dumping by different companies and another one is through dump sites and located near

waterways (Singh, et al., 2017).

Likewise, in Manila grappled with question of what to do with more than 8,600 tons of

garbage from its 1.5 million residents generates each day (Harobado, 2014). In detail, the lists of

the garbage in the ocean were plastic bags 679,957, paper bags 253,013 and food wrappers

103,226. Also recovered were 38,394 pieces of clothing and shoes, 55,814 tobacco-related items

including cigarette butts 34,154, lighters and wrappers, and 11,077 diapers. These can cause

poison and toxic in the ocean and you may see these trashes in some body of water like the

Manila Bay (Ng, 2014).

Furthermore, despite of strong environmental activism that the Philippines have, it still

suffers from a trash problem (Tantuco, 2018). From the write ups of Rappler they emphasized on

their report that out of the total 178 LGUs in Manila area, there are still 39.89% that don’t

comply with the 10-year solid waste management plan, 27.53% that don’t comply with

regulations for segregation at source, 23.03% that don’t comply with regulations on segregated
 21

collection, 44.38% that do not have a functional materials recovery facilities, and 10.11% that

don’t have approved disposal facilities (Tantuco, 2018).

Data shows that the local government was having the hard time in implementing the

Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Tantuco, 2018). Many programs and projects

are done by the Philippine government in the implementation of Reuse and recycle but none of

them are successful. Some local government unit instigates the “No Segregation, No Collection

Policy” and “No Burn Pilipinas” but still there are municipalities and towns who do not conform

to the policy (Ng, 2014) and failed to implement RA 9003.

In today’s time, waste management is a very common term and is used to describe the

series of activities from waste generation to disposal that can help sort the innumerable problems

due to improper waste disposal that includes adverse effects on human health and the

environment (The Scientist Explorer).

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization causes an extraordinary increase in the

origination of unwanted waste. It has been a problem in the community on how to segregate

waste. Though, there are lots of program being implemented in order to separate waste from

recyclable one. People started waste separating since around 20 years ago, and till today many

waste sorting centers have their own automated assembly lines. But this process cycle is not

perfect: The current quality control step in waste sorting process requires a lot of manual

(Balagugan, et.al, 2017)

In the industrial level, the sorted mixed waste is done through the following techniques,

manual sorting of large items, other materials are sorted through its size with the help of large

rotating drums. It has smaller in size, the diameter has holes in which particles will be dropped

and large items will hang in the drum.

 21

Currently, there exist various types of machinery which attempt to sort one material from

another with differing degrees of success (Balakrishnan, et.al, 2016). In the Philippines, no

modern technology has been used to segregate waste. Only the manual process of segregating

was then used (Ng, 2014).

 21

References:

Balagugan, R.S., Maheswaran, T., Savitha, S., (2017). Implementation of Automated Waste

Segregator at Household Level. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering, and Technology.

Balakrishnan, K., Swathy, T.B., Subha, R. & T D. (2016). Automatic Waste Segregator

and Monitoring System. Journal of Microcontroller Engineering and Applications

Carullo, A., & Parvis, M. (2016). An Ultrasonic Sensor for Distance Measurement in

Automotive Applications. IEEE Sensors.

Chandramohan, A., Mendonca, J., Shankar, N. R., Baheti, N., Suma, N. (2014). Automated

Waste Segregator. College of Engineering (RVCE), Bangalore, India.

City of Oslo. (2013). Application to become European green capital 2016, City of Oslo: Oslo.

Clark, J., and Matharu, A. (2013). ‘Waste to Wealth using Green Chemistry’, in Waste as

Resource, edited Hester, R and Harrison, R. Cambridge: RSC Publishing. 66-82.

Dudhal, S.M., Jonwal, B.S., Chaudhari, H.P., (2014). “WASTE SEGREGATION USING
 21

PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER”. IJTRE, Volume 1, Issue 8, April 2014.

Dwivedi, S., Fernandes, M., D’souza, R., (2016). “A Review on PLC based Automatic Waste

Segregator”. IJARCET, Volume 5, Issue 2, February 2016.

Environment.no (operated by the Norwegian Environment Agency), 2016, ‘Waste’.

http://www.environment.no/Topics/Waste/ Retrieved: March 30, 2016.

Harobado, J., (2014). Alarming Waste Problem in the Philippines. Personal Blog. Retrieved

August 24, 2014 from

https://jeazharobado8.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/hre044ahraugust262014/

Kothari, N., (2013). Waste to Wealth. New Delhi: NSWAI; Jul 2013.

Mawis, S.M., (2019). Solid Waste Mismanagement in the Philippines. Personal Blog. Retrived

April, 2019 from business.inquirer.net

McCornack, A. (2012). ‘Strengthening Local Governance Through Effective Waste

Management: The Sustainable Environmental Practices and Policies Program in South

Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley’, The Journal of Sustainable Development .

Ng, C.H., (2014). Environmental Problem Issues of Garbage in the Philippines. Ender’s Blog.

http://cng0268.blogspot.com/2011/07/environmental-problem-issuesof-garbage.html
 21

Pavithra, (2014). “Smart Trash System: An Applicationusing ZigBee”. IJISET, Volume 1, Issue

8, October 2014

Pushpa, M.K., Gupta, A., Shaikh, S.M., Jha, S., Suchitra, V., (2015). “Microcontroller based

Automatic Waste Segregator”. IJIREEICE,Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2015.

Republic of the Philippines, RA 9003. “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.”

Retrieved from https://eia.emb.gov.ph/nswme

Sakr, G. E., Mokbel, M., Darwich, A., Khneisser, M. N., & Hadi, A. (2016). Comparing Deep

Learning And Support Vector Machines for Autonomous Waste Sorting. IEEE

International Multidisciplinary Conference on Engineering.

Tantuco, V., (2018). Why can’t the Philippines solve its trash problem?. Rappler.

September 14, 2018 from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-

depth/210292-reason-philippines-cannot-solve-trash-problem.

Tarbell, K.A., et.al. (2014). Applying Machine Learning to the Sorting of Recyclable Containers.

National-Waste-Processing- Conference

The Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøverndepartmentet). (2013). ‘Fra avfall

til ressurs: Avfallsstrategi’. Retrived from https://www.regjeringen.no/conten

tassets/27128ced39e74b0ba1213-a09522de084/t1531_web.pdf.
 21

The Scientific Explorer. Helix Vol. 7(5): DOI 10.29042/2017-2053-2058

UNEP. (2011). ‘Waste: Investing in energy and resource efficiency’. Retrieved from

http://web.unep.org/greeneconomy/sites/unep.org.greeneconomy/files/publications/ger/

ger_final_dec_2011/8.0-WAS-Waste.pdf
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Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter outlines the methodology of the quantitative study. It presents the research

design that will be used in the study as well as the procedures.

Conceptual Framework

INPUT PROCESS
OUTPUT
IR Proximity Assembling,
Sensor, Moisture programming, pilot
Automatic Waste
Sensor, Laser, LDR, testing, and
Segregator
Arduino, Metal effeciency of the
Plate, Bins device

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

Figure 1 shoes the materials used as the input and are assembled and programmed

for the pilot testing to build the Automatic Waste Segregator Device.

Flowchart of the Study


Gathering of materials
by ordering them
through Lazada
Likert Scale was used
for the evaluation of the
response
The data were recorded,
tabulated, and analyzed
using appropriate
statistical tools
Research Design
This study made use of Randomized Complete Block Design in presenting and
interpreting the results. The fallouts were presented in the form of tables and photographs were
presented to support the result.
Gathering of Materials
21
The supervision of a
liscensed computer The devuce was set to
engineer was present pilot testing and
during the assembling randomly selected six
of the Arduino and (6) respondents.
sensors
In the acceptabilit test,
a plastic bottle and a
paper was used to
The respondents were
record the effectiveness
interviewed to compare
of Automatic Waste
the treatments
Segregator. The trials
were replicated three
(3) times.
t test and wilcoxon rank
sum test was used to
deteermine the Cost analysis
acceptability of the
study
 21

The researcher purchased the materials in an online shopping application. The materials

were shipped both internationally and locally because some materials needed were not available

in the locality.

Safety and Precautions

The researchers observed safety precautions and prescriptions given by the project

coordinator and research adviser. Also, they made sure that there is a presence of a licensed

engineer during the assembling of materials. The researchers reviewed the whole process of

experimentation to stay away from unwanted incidents or circumstances. They wore gloves and

lab gowns to avoid further complications and ensure their safety.

Preparation of Materials

IR Proximity Sensor. It works by applying a voltage to a pair of IR light producing

diodes (LED’s) which in turn, emits infrared light. This light travels through the air and once it

comes in contact with an object, it is reflected back towards the detector. The waste is discarded

into the AWS and comes in proximity of IR Proximity Sensor module which marks the entry of

the waste. When the IR sensing unit becomes active, it sends a conforming signal to controller

which in turn activates the other sensor.

Laser LDR. It was the combination of Laser Sensor and LDR that was used to detect

plastic component from the material.

 21

Moisture Sensor. It works as a sensor to determine whether the waste material placed at

the sorting plate is wet or dry. It works as it was able to sense the moist present in the material.

Arduino UNO. It was used as a microcontroller board on the Microchip ATmega328P

microcontroller and developed by Arduino cc which is equipped with sets of digital and analog

input or output pins that may be interfaced to various expansion boards and other circuits.

Segregation Bins. This unit consists of flap mechanism and circular base along with

three bins named wet, biodegradable and non – biodegradable. This is the third and final stage

assembly. The microcontroller after identifying the type of material brings the particular bin

below and outlet flap with the help of PMMC DC motor.

Power Supply. Circuits, sensors and motors are used, which requires +12V and +5V

supply. To fulfill this requirement we have used following circuit supple which provided

regulated +12V and +5V. Transformer (15V/1A) is used to down convert the AC up to 15V. For

conversion of AC into DC, bridged type rectifier is used made up of 4 diodes (1N4007) which is

tied to secondary pf the transformer. Capacitors of value 1000 uf and 1 uf are used as filters.

7812 IC is used as 12V regulator. It converts 15V into regulated +12V DC. IC 7805 is used as

5V regulator. It converts 12V intro regulated +5V.

System Design

The Automatic waste segregator has a trash plate where the garbage is placed first that is divided

into three compartments for the collection of the segregated waste respectively. Each

compartment has their own function, the first compartment consists of an IR sensor and moisture

sensor where wet wastes are placed, the second compartment consists of another IR sensor and
 21

laser ldr for plastic, and the third compartment is also consists of another IR sensor and laser ldr

where paper is placed. The whole system is controlled by arduino mega board and each and

every component is interfaced to the arduino board. The necessary code for controlling the

buttons and the motors is coded using embedded-C language, in which the inputs and the output

ports can be defined easily. In this project we have used IDE compiler to compile the code and

upload it to the board using an A-B wire.

The automated process of segregation starts with the detection of garbage in the trash

plate, where an IR sensor, moisture sensor, and laser ldr are placed. The IR sensor is used for

detecting the presence of garbage in the trash place and the process of separation begins. First,

once garbage is detected by the IR sensor, the moisture sensor become active and verifies if the

garbage is of wet waste. When any wet object is present near the moisture sensor, contents in the

trash place are sent directly to the three separate bins used for wet waste, plastic, and paper.

Laser ldr will be programmed by an arduino board wherein the laser will detect plastics

only. When the garbage is deemed to be plastic, they are sent to the second compartment where

an IR sensor and laser ldr is used to verify the presence of the plastic. Depending on the output

given by the IR sensor, the laser ldr gets activated or passed and the plastics are sent directly to

the second compartment. Furthermore, when the laser ldr did not passed or detects any plastic,

automatically, the contents will be sent to the third compartment.

The storage compartment consists of a rotating table with three bins namely wet waste,

plastic, and paper. The rotating table rotates according to the type of garbage detected in the

previous compartments, for collecting the respective waste and after collection of garbage resets

to a default position.
 21

Pre – Evaluation

This study used Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBd) to provide observation of

the efficiency test of the product. Plastic bottle and paper was used to test the effectiveness of the

device. The plastic bottle and paper works as the materials used in recording the accuracy and

speed of segregation using the Automatic Waste Segregator and manual labor. The trials were

replicated 3 times. To compare the differences among the trials, statistical ANOVA was

employed.

Post – Evaluation

To compare the treatments, 6 respondents composed of citizens of Alaminos City, Pangasinan

were randomly selected. They were interviewed after letting them observe and evaluate the

accuracy of Automatic Waste Segregator based on the prepared treatments. To distinguish their

judgement, the Likert scale was used in the following scale:

5 - Highly Accepted

4 - Accepted

3 - Moderately Accepted

2 - Fairly Accepted

1 -Not Accepted

To determine the level of acceptability, average weighted mean was used. The following

scale was utilized:

 21

The result of evaluation were tabulated using the sample table and from which was used in

the statistical comparison.

Data Gathering

To gather data, the researcher pilot tested the Automatic Waste Segregator by placing

plastic bottle and paper was materials to be segregated by the device. Tests were conducted to

record the efficacy of the product in comparison with manual labor in terms of time efficiency

and accuracy. Data were recorded, tabulated and analyzed to appropriate statistical tools.

Statistical Analysis

The different trials were compared using t-test.

Where:

t = t-value

X = sample mean of X group

Y = sample mean of Y group

sX= sample standard deviation of X group

sY= sample standard deviation of Y group

Nx= size of X sample

Ny= size of Y sample

 21

T-test was used to determine the efficiency of the study. This test can prove whether the

alternative or null hypothesis shall be accepted or rejected. This also showed the significant

difference between the Automatic Waste Segregator and manual labor in terms of time

efficiency.

Standard Deviation was used to measure the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of

data values.

ANOVA was used to determine the efficiency of the quality of work between the Automatic

Waste Segregator and manual labor in terms of accuracy in three trials.

Level of Significance

This study made use of α=0.05 level of significance.

 21

Chapter 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter showed the results of testing of the Automatic Waste Segregator. The results

expressed the comparison between the Automatic Waste Segregator and the manual labor. The

data were summarized and presented below using tables for easy comprehension. Likewise,

discussions are presented.

Table 1: Time efficiency between Automatic Waste Segregator and Manual Labor in
minutes in a 2 kilogram of waste
Trials A (s) B (s)

Trial 1 3.23 7.52

Trial 2 3.49 7.46

Trial 3 3.16 8.37

Based on table 1, the duration of A (Automatic Waste Segregator) is lesser than the time

of work in B (manual labor).

Table 2: Difference between the use of Automatic Waste Segregator and Manual Labor in
the duration of work in minutes
Mean Standard Variance T-critical T-computed Decision Significance

Deviation
 21

A 3.29 0.14 0.02 2.78 14.4596 Reject Ho Significant

B 7.78 0.42 0.17

Based on Table 2, the t-computed value was greater than the t-critical value. It implied

that the null hypothesis was rejected, thus, there was a significant difference in the duration of

work between the use of (A) Automatic Waste Segregator and (B) manual labor. Therefore, it

can be implied that the time of work in using the segregator was faster than manual labor.

Table 3. Summary of Mean Ratings using Automatic Waste Segregator in terms of

accuracy.
MEAN AVERAGE MEAN INTERPRETATION
Trial 1 25 4.167 Highly Acceptable
Trial 2 18 3 Highly Acceptable
Trial 3 27 4.5 Highly Acceptable
Based on Table 3, the highest rated trial for accuracy is trial 3 with an average mean of 4.5

and is highly acceptable in terms of accuracy.

Table 4. Summary of Mean Ratings using the manual labor in terms of accuracy.
MEAN AVERAGE MEAN INTERPRETATION
Trial 1 25 4.167 Highly Acceptable
Trial 2 24 4 Highly Acceptable
Trial 3 26 4.33 Very Acceptable
Based on Table 4, the highest rated trial for accuracy is trial 3 with 4.33 average mean and is

very acceptable in terms of accuracy.

Table 5: Difference between the use of Automatic Waste Segregator and Manual Labor in
terms of accuracy.
 21

Sum of Df Mean F Sig.

Squares Squares
Bet. Groups 7.4444 2 3.7222 6.7 .008333
Within 8.3333 15 0.5556

Groups
Total 15.7778 17

Based on the data from Table 5, the computed F-value of 6.7 with p-value of 0.008333 is

greater than the level of significance (0.5), the null hypothesis is accepted. Thus, there is no

significant difference between the Automatic Waste Segregator and the manual labor.

Cost Analysis

The table below showed the costs of the materials used in making the Automatic Waste

Segregator.

Table 3. List of materials used and their cost.

MATERIALS COST
IP Poximity Sensor P889.97
Laser Sensor P112.00
LDR P79.00
Moisture Sensor P124.75
Arduino Uno board P400.00
Power Supply P750.00
Based on the table 3, the total amount of Automatic Waste Segregator was P2,355.72.

Table 4. Segregation Labor and their costs in the Philippines

TYPE OF LABOR LOCAL CURRENCY

 21

Daily general worker (unskilled casual worker) 450 - 500 PHP (Metro Area)

350 - 400 PHP (Province Area)

Skilled labor 550 – 600 PHP

Based on the table 4, the amount of labor varies from PHP 350 - 500 depending on the type

of labor. In a month, the cost varies from PHP10, 850 - 15, 500.

Comparing the amounts, it can be concluded that the use of Automatic Waste Segregator

will be cheaper than the actual manual labor.

Chapter 5

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

Based from the result of the experimentation, the researcher concluded the following:
 21

1. Improper waste management has led to substantial negative environmental impacts such as

pollution of air, soil, and water. It may also result to health and safety problems such as

disease spread by insects and rodents via garbage heaps and unsanitary disposal sites.

2. In terms of soil pollution, some of the materials in the garbage cannot be easily degraded,

which makes the land seriously eroded. Removing the materials that are non-recyclable or

difficult to degrade, the garbage sorting can reduce the amount of garbage. It will also lessen

the number of people who are throwing their wastes into the riverbanks that will soon cause

to flood. Therefore, automatic waste segregator has a significant effect to the lives of people

where they can guarantee safeness from hazard.

3. There is a significant difference between the Automatic Waste Segregator and the usual way

of waste management done by humans.

4. There is no significant difference between Automatic Waste Segregator and the manual

labor in terms of accuracy.

Recommendations

Although this project is a success, there are some recommendations formulated by the

researcher.

Here are some recommendations:

1. Researchers highly recommend conducting a simulation of the automatic waste segregator

for the user to know its effectiveness.

2. The use of a bigger trash plate and compartments for more segregated waste.

3. Further investigations regarding the system design and features of the automatic waste
 21

segregator.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Balagugan, R.S., Maheswaran, T., Savitha, S., (2017). Implementation of Automated Waste

Segregator at Household Level. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

 21

Engineering, and Technology.

Balakrishnan, K., Swathy, T.B., Subha, R. & T D. (2016). Automatic Waste Segregator

and Monitoring System. Journal of Microcontroller Engineering and Applications

Carullo, A., & Parvis, M. (2016). An Ultrasonic Sensor for Distance Measurement in

Automotive Applications. IEEE Sensors.

Chandramohan, A., Mendonca, J., Shankar, N. R., Baheti, N., Suma, N. (2014). Automated

Waste Segregator. College of Engineering (RVCE), Bangalore, India.

City of Oslo. (2013). Application to become European green capital 2016, City of Oslo: Oslo.

Clark, J., and Matharu, A. (2013). ‘Waste to Wealth using Green Chemistry’, in Waste as

Resource, edited Hester, R and Harrison, R. Cambridge: RSC Publishing. 66-82.

Dudhal, S.M., Jonwal, B.S., Chaudhari, H.P., (2014). “WASTE SEGREGATION USING

PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER”. IJTRE, Volume 1, Issue 8, April 2014.

Dwivedi, S., Fernandes, M., D’souza, R., (2016). “A Review on PLC based Automatic Waste

Segregator”. IJARCET, Volume 5, Issue 2, February 2016.

 21

Environment.no (operated by the Norwegian Environment Agency), 2016, ‘Waste’.

http://www.environment.no/Topics/Waste/ Retrieved: March 30, 2016.

Harobado, J., (2014). Alarming Waste Problem in the Philippines. Personal Blog. Retrieved

August 24, 2014 from

https://jeazharobado8.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/hre044ahraugust262014/

Kothari, N., (2013). Waste to Wealth. New Delhi: NSWAI; Jul 2013.

Mawis, S.M., (2019). Solid Waste Mismanagement in the Philippines. Personal Blog. Retrived

April, 2019 from business.inquirer.net

McCornack, A. (2012). ‘Strengthening Local Governance Through Effective Waste

Management: The Sustainable Environmental Practices and Policies Program in South

Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley’, The Journal of Sustainable Development .

Ng, C.H., (2014). Environmental Problem Issues of Garbage in the Philippines. Ender’s Blog.

http://cng0268.blogspot.com/2011/07/environmental-problem-issuesof-garbage.html

Pavithra, (2014). “Smart Trash System: An Applicationusing ZigBee”. IJISET, Volume 1, Issue

8, October 2014

Pushpa, M.K., Gupta, A., Shaikh, S.M., Jha, S., Suchitra, V., (2015). “Microcontroller based

Automatic Waste Segregator”. IJIREEICE,Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2015.

 21

Republic of the Philippines, RA 9003. “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.”

Retrieved from https://eia.emb.gov.ph/nswme

Sakr, G. E., Mokbel, M., Darwich, A., Khneisser, M. N., & Hadi, A. (2016). Comparing Deep

Learning And Support Vector Machines for Autonomous Waste Sorting. IEEE

International Multidisciplinary Conference on Engineering.

Tantuco, V., (2018). Why can’t the Philippines solve its trash problem?. Rappler.

September 14, 2018 from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-

depth/210292-reason-philippines-cannot-solve-trash-problem.

Tarbell, K.A., et.al. (2014). Applying Machine Learning to the Sorting of Recyclable Containers.

National-Waste-Processing- Conference

The Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøverndepartmentet). (2013). ‘Fra avfall

til ressurs: Avfallsstrategi’. Retrived from https://www.regjeringen.no/conten

tassets/27128ced39e74b0ba1213-a09522de084/t1531_web.pdf.

The Scientific Explorer. Helix Vol. 7(5): DOI 10.29042/2017-2053-2058

UNEP. (2011). ‘Waste: Investing in energy and resource efficiency’. Retrieved from

http://web.unep.org/greeneconomy/sites/unep.org.greeneconomy/files/publications/ger/

ger_final_dec_2011/8.0-WAS-Waste.pdf
21
 21

APPENDICES
Add your text here

APPENDIX A

PHOTOS

Gathering and Preparation of Materials

 21

IR PROXIMITY SENSOR METAL PLATE

ELECTRICAL WIRES SOLAR PANNEL

 21

ARDUINO LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR

MOISTURE SENSOR LASER SENSOR

 21

Appendix B
 21

EVALUATION FORM

Accuracy

RESPONDENTS
Automatic Waste Segregator Manual Labor

TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3 TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3

R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6

RESPONDENTS Automatic Waste Segregator Manual Labor

TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3 TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3

R1 5 4 5 5 4 4
R2 3 3 5 4 3 4
R3 5 4 4 4 3 5
R4 4 3 4 5 5 4
R5 4 2 5 3 5 4
R6 4 2 4 4 4 5

DATA GATHERED

Accuracy
 21

Table 5: Difference between the use of Automatic Waste Segregator and Manual Labor in
terms of accuracy.
Sum of Df Mean F Sig.

Squares Squares
Bet. Groups 7.4444 2 3.7222 6.7 .008333
Within 8.3333 15 0.5556

Groups
Total 15.7778 17

Appendix C

STATISTICAL TEST

T-TEST

Where:

t = t-value

X1= sample mean of X group

X2 = sample mean of Y group

S1= pooled sample variance of X group

S2= pooled sample variance of Y group

N1= size of X sample

N2= size of Y sample

 21

Table 2: Difference between the use of Automatic Waste Segregator and Manual Labor in
the duration of work in minutes

Mean Standard Variance T-critical T-computed Decision Significance

Deviation
A 3.29 0.14 0.02 2.78 14.4596 Reject Ho Significant
B 7.78 0.42 0.17

Appendix C

CURRICULUM VITAE

PERSONAL DATA
Name: Alfonso Miguel R. Almes
Address: Poblacion Alaminos City, Pangasinan
Civil Status: Single
Date of Birth: April 30, 2002
Father’s Name: Ariel S. Almes
Father’s Occupation: Civil Engineer
Mother’s Name: Anna Lisa R. Almes
Mother’s Occupation: House Wife

EDUCATIONAL BACKROUND
Elementary Shekinah Grace School
Palamis Alaminos City, Pangasinan 2404
 21

2014
Junior High School Colegio San Jose de Alaminos
Poblacion Alaminos City Pangasinan 2404
2018
With Honors
Senior High School Alaminos City National High School
Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

PERSONAL DATA

Name: Lyka B. Bacay

Address: Lucap, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

Civil Status: Single

Date of Birth: August 21, 2001

Father’s Name: Diosdado Q. Bacay

Father’s Occupation: Room Attendant

2Mother’s Name: Myrna B. Bacay

Mother’s Occupation: Housewife

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Elementary LUCAP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Lucap, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

 21

2012

Junior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL

HIGH SCHOOL

Regular Class

2016

With Honors

Senior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL

HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

PERSONAL DATA

Name: Kazell Cate A. Baterina

Address: Lucap, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

Civil Status: Single

Date of Birth: May 21, 2002

Father’s Name: Melchor A. Baterina

Father’s Occupation: Teacher

Mother’s Name: Suzette M. Albay

Mother’s Occupation: Fire Fighter

 21

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Elementary BANAUE CENTRAL SCHOOL

Poblacion, Banaue, Ifugao

2012

Valedictorian

Junior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Open High School Program

2016

With Honors

Senior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

PERSONAL DATA

Name: Apple Joy Marie B. Ladia

Address: Amambangan, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

Civil Status: Single

Date of Birth: October 9, 2001

Father’s Name: Isabelo D. Ladia

Father’s Occupation: Contractor

Mother’s Name: Nela B. Ladia

Mother’s Occupation: Housewife

 21

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Elementary AMAMBANGAN CENTRAL SCHOOL

Poblacion, Banaue, Ifugao

2012

Valedictorian

Junior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology and Engineering (STE)

2016

With Honors

Senior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

PERSONAL DATA

Name: Patricia Denisse N. Racraquin

Address: Balayang, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

Civil Status: Single

Date of Birth: December 23, 2001

Father’s Name: Joffry A. Racraquin

Father’s Occupation: OFW

Mother’s Name: Mary Jean N. Racraquin

Mother’s Occupation: Teacher

 21

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Elementary SAN VICENTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

San Vicente, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

2012

5th Honorable Mention

Junior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology and Engineering (STE)

2016

With High Honors

Senior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

PERSONAL DATA

Name: Angelika D. Reyes

Address: Bolaney, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

Civil Status: Single

Date of Birth: April 8, 2002

Father’s Name: Jeck G. Reyes

Father’s Occupation: Bus Driver

Mother’s Name: Eireen D. Reyes

Mother’s Occupation: Housewife

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
 21

Elementary ALAMINOS CENTRAL SCHOOL

Poblacion, Alaminos City, Pangasinan

2012

Junior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology and Engineering (STE)

2016

With High Honors

Senior High School ALAMINOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Appendix E

GANTT CHART

Date
Day 1- November 14, 2019
Day 2- November 15, 2019
Day 3- November 23, 2019
Searching for possible professionals who can help us with our
Day 4- November 28, 2019
Day 5- January 4 2020
Day 6- January 16, 2020
Day 7- January 17, 2020
Day 8- January 20, 2020
Day 9- February 20, 2020
Day 10-February 21, 2020
Day 11- February 22, 2020
Day 12- March 9, 2020
Day 13- March 10, 2020
Activity
Choosing and validating the project
Distribution of tasks for Chapter 1
Start searching for Related Literature for Chapter 2
project construction
Finalizing Chapter 1
Construction of script for the Title Defense
Title Defense
Compilation of Chapter 2
Construction of Schematic Diagram
Starting Chapter 3
Finalizing Chapter 3 and Compilation of References
Construction of Chapter 4 and 5
Gathering photos for Appendix A
 21

Day 14- March 11, 2020 Finalizing Appendixes and updating the Gantt Chart
Day 15- March 12, 2020 Checking and proof reading of final manuscript.
Day 16- March 15, 2020 Printing the final manuscript.
Day 17- March 16, 2020 Submission of paper.