in India is a complex process riddled with many challenges. The major challenge lies in the collection process. When waste isn’t collected on time, it sets off a chain of problems—including piling garbage and pollution, ultimately impacting public health and safety.
Recognising these woes, Abhishek Gupta and Abhinav Shekhar Vashistha, alumni of IIITDM Jabalpur, set up WeVOIS Labs Pvt Ltd in 2018 to streamline door-to-door waste collection in urban areas using technology. Sanitation staff do not collect waste regularly and sometimes miss stops along the way. WeVOIS’ waste management process—driven by an IoT-based (internet of things) navigation system—ensures that the collection staff pick up waste from all households and commercial establishments (such as shops) assigned to them.
“In traditional methods, 60-70% of houses are reached. Waste from the remaining households is either dumped in open lands or burnt, leading to land and air pollution. “Reaching 100% of households every day can be achieved with the help of technology, and this is exactly what WeVOIS is doing,” says Vashistha.
WeVOIS’ mobile app guides the waste collection staff along the most efficient routes and ensures that all waste is collected on time without any missed stops. The routes are optimised based on factors such as type of entity, geolocation, amount of waste generated, and distance between collection points, explains Gupta, who has been involved with the Indian government’s Swachh .