Here is a list of our three possible solutions to help improve the overwhelming trash in Manila:
1. Having Artificial Insects: The idea is to program these insects to scan the garbage and eat whatever is not biodegradable. The way it works is that their “stomachs” could be another kind of incinerator, so they are always “hungry”. Whatever is biodegradable can be digested by another type of artificial insect that would help convert it into something helpful for the environment like fertilizer.
2. Creating “Smart” Trash cans and placing them at every corner. Instead of having one trash can to accept all types of trash, there would be different types, so that some would only accept biodegradable trash, ordinary trash, paper, etc. Instead of just taking in trash, these cans would be able to transform the trash into something useful for either the environment or the community. Also, the trash can would be programmed to transform the trash into whatever it wants.
3. Create a robotic system where these squared robots would come around and inspect/”eat” the garbage. They can be programmed to go to certain dump sites where they will form/drop their collected garbage onto a certain sport. Then a bigger robot would come and take the garbage. It will be programmed to destroy the garbage, so that it does not get piled up. For paper/plastic/cardboard items, they can be thrown away and used for composting to help the environment.