Climate change is a current and very urgent topic getting a lot of attention. When discussing the reasons for it the enormous amount of wastage produced by the global community is often mentioned as the main factor enhancing the negative developments. In fact, studies estimate that about eight million metric tonnes enter the oceans from land each year. This poses a serious risk to a wide variety of marine animals and through the food chain also to on land animals and even to humans (World Economic Forum, 2016).
Fortunately, however, the human species found a method to reduce the amount of waste produced and ending up in the oceans. We call it the waste hierarchy and it includes “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”. Recycling refers to converting waste materials into new materials and objects and recycling bins are very common. Yet, the actual rate of recycling is still extremely low and this is mostly due to the fact that waste is not sorted properly and, hence, can not be disposed or re-used easily. In fact, countries known as sustainability forerunners like Denmark still only recycle about 44% of municipal waste (OECD, 2019). However, the advancement of technology and the introduction of smart sorting waste bins might be the solution to increasing these rates heavily without the need for a dramatic behavioural change (McQuarrie, 2019). For example, the Kickstarter project ‘Oscar’ promises a next-generation trash receptacle.
By using several smart sensors, cameras and artificial intelligent algorithms products can be assessed and sorted accordingly (McQuarrie, 2018). This is just one example among several new providers offering fully automated trash cans that do not only sort the trash but for example can also automatically drive in front of the house when a pick-up is scheduled (Haar, 2017). The inventors promise that these novel products will not only help society to recycle more and, hence, become more sustainable but also that they will save time and money (Haar, 2017). Yet, the question remains whether these products will be able to fully function soon enough to save the planet.
Interesting! I wonder however, how expensive this kind of waste disposal system would be, and if it could be implemented widely without government subsidies. I do think this would be very useful in public spaces at least, if only to also raise awareness and maybe even teach people about what they can recycle, which I know I am personally also stumped by sometimes.