Drones are now taking out the trash in China due to COVID-19

A resident in Dalian, China, has come up with a smart solution to take out the trash as the country endures another wave of COVID-19 lockdowns. The resident has chosen to use a drone to drop the package off on the ground through their apartment window.

The video of the flying trash worker hit Weibo earlier this week via the Sina Weibo account. In the video, we can see what looks to be a DJI Inspire 1 flying out of a high-rise apartment’s window with a bag of trash hanging below.

The drone can then be seen dropping the bag off in a designated area for rubbish before making its way back to the apartment.

Commenters on the video were excited by the resident’s creative thinking and took note of how drone technology has changed our lives. Other commenters did mention problems that could grow from using drones. One shared that it might start giving people the chance to dump their garbage illegally.

This would be easy to do with a drone. Fly the drone up and away from your apartment building, drop off the trash, and fly back, hoping no one sees the drone coming in and out of your unit. However, I think this could be a great way to help those stuck in apartment lockdowns.

Since no one can leave their buildings, trash is likely put outside of the front door for someone else to come in and collect. While collecting the trash, the person could either bring in or contract COVID-19, making the situation worse. Using drones, you would eliminate the need for an external person to come in, reducing the chance of transmission.

Drones and COVID-19

Drones have been present throughout the global pandemic, with some saying that this demonstrates how truly useful they are. Recently, the University of California San Diego (UCSD) developed a disinfecting drone with UV-C lights. Many countries are using drones to disinfect public areas, along with monitoring busy areas to ensure people are following social distancing rules.

• Thai Air Force turns to drones to detect illegal crossings
• UV drones aren’t the way to rid areas of COVID-19
• University lab develops disinfecting drone with UV-C lights
• Swoop Aero triples drone fleet size in Malawi amid COVID-19
• COVID-19 could be a boon for the drone industry

Photo: Sina Weibo