An automatic emptying and incineration system for sanitary pads.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to automatically empty the sanitary bins and incinerate the sanitary pads. In most institutions, the used sanitary pads are always handled by the waste pickers hence rendering them vulnerable health-wise to most diseases due to the pathogens that thrive in the used sanitary pads since most of them do not use nose masks when handling the pads. According to WHO, blood and blood products, as well as various types of body fluids are capable of transmitting pathogens when brought into direct contact with the lining of the mouth and nose, the eyes, and areas of the skin containing cuts and abrasions. And exposure to the used sanitary pads results into several infections including skin infections, respiratory ailments Hepatitis, Tetanus, E. coli and Salmonella, would be a very real possibility to these waste pickers. It aims to prevent cleaners from handling the sanitary pads to the incineration point and those pads that might be left. stagnant for a long time without being incinerated. Many kinds of approaches like literature studies, research and consultations were conducted to develop the prototype of the system. Arduino, ultrasonic sensor, servo motor, conveyer belt, DC motor, electric coil, and relay board are the hardware tools that were used to monitor and control the power consumption. The system is mainly built using Embedded Systems Hardware. The system is designed with an ultrasonic sensor for detecting the level of pads in the sanitary bin and a servo motor to open the lower lid of the bin so that the pads flow out or the bin to the incineration point to be incinerated with the help of a conveyer belt. The result is a system prototype that is capable to empty the sanitary bins and incinerate the sanitary bins hence preventing the cleaners from handling the sanitary pads.