Digital waste and recycling solutions?

10 October 2015 · 5 min read

From the archive: written before or outside the Architect Tomorrow newsletter, so it may be out of date.

So much about the “Internet of Things” at the moment feels like a hammer looking for nails. I came across “Smart Scales” in the local supermarket today reduced from £60 to £20. They have an iPad app that shows you the ingredients of your recipe filling up on the screen. No wonder they were reduced - how about just looking at the bowl on top of normal scales?!*

Technologists (myself included) often get caught up in a “technology first” mind-set. “Cloud First”, “API First”, “Mobile First” marketing slogans are examples of this. Personally I am trying to move to an “Opportunity First” problem solving mind-set. What is the challenge, what strategies could be developed and where could technology fit into that picture?

So if we look at waste what are the challenges and opportunities?

Reducing landfill waste and increasing recycling are key challenges to our world with its ever increasing population . Dumping waste in landfill sites is not a solution and needs to be avoided as much as possible.
How can we encourage better individual behaviours in our “throwaway society” and apply more intelligence to waste disposal and management?
Bins are a potential public health issue - particularly with less frequent collections.
Quite a bit of water must get used washing hands after interacting with waste and bins. Water is obviously another constrained environmental resource.
Space in our homes is an issue - as properties get smaller due to increasing density and price increases many households don’t have space for segregated waste. Can we remove within home storage of waste altogether?
Can we make the process of recycling / vs throwing things away easier, quicker and less messy?
People are generally lazy and increasingly time poor - particularly young families - but these are often the households with the most waste to deal with.
How could you monetize bins? Could you use them for other community purposes? Could these be used to host “community environmental sensors”?
Could you use automation or robotics to take away the pain of taking the bins out?

So some ideas…

Bin 2.0 or Smart Bins:

Solar powered / recharged.
Could have a light that helps you see / use the bin at night
Motorised lids to make loading easier and more hygienic; which also would allow them to be locked (preventing people dumping stuff in your bin when theirs is full) / Proximity sensor (phone or fob).
Would also need a “collection mode” to allow them to be emptied!
Rubbish vs recycling sorting? Could you for example detect when someone has put a battery or electronics in the bin and collect these separately to help satisfy the WEEE directive?
Who took the most stuff to bin (particularly who recycled most) in a household - gamification
Capacity detection
Could probably easily retrofit existing bins by simply replacing (or modifying) the lid on existing wheelie bins and dust bins?
Reminders to your phone when its bin night so you don’t forget to take them out.
Could embed the community/environmental sensor concept within the bin?

Bin Bot - or Waste Drone

Think of it a bit like the robot vacuum or lawn mower except that it moves incremental amounts of rubbish.

Rather than having a bin you fill the bin bot. Bin bot will help segregate waste types and then take the waste to the appropriate (external) container - i.e. paper, glass, cans, rubbish.

If your main bin was a bin bot it could move to the most appropriate location - during the night it could hide itself away, when it is needed in the day move nearer the back door, on the night before bin collection day move itself to the kerbside location for collection?

Sadly it turns out some of this idea isn’t particularly new: The Italian Dust Cart project (see also http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/and http://thefutureofthings.com/)

Doggy Bin 2.0? Struggling to think of a good name! “Ideas on a postcard comment please”

Gamification of dog waste disposal via dog bins.

Rather than bashing the people that don’t clear up after their dogs how about rewarding those that do?

Again the solar powered, motorised lid and community sensor elements from the Bin 2.0 could be incorporated too? As you often you can’t wash your hands when out with the dog.

Nappy Bin 2.0

Theres probably an element of this that could be applied to nappy bins too. How about a smart version of the nappy bin? Which had a motorised section that goes outside and empties itself when half full? This sort of thing might even save marriages (well it will certainly avoid arguments anyway!)

Ok, so I probably know what you are thinking: lay off the red wine Oliver! If your not thinking that then maybe take a look at some more of my ideas:

* Maybe I am being unfair to the Smart Scales - perhaps the inventor thought how can we make cooking and baking easier via technology. But it felt to me like another Smart Toaster concept.

Originally published on LinkedIn. Comments and discussion live there.