How many times have you had a leftover banana peel or soiled pizza box and wondered: where is the nearest compost bin? As a student who has spent three years on the UC Irvine campus, I have ran into this question too many times. Unless we are talking about the food court or housing communities, there just does not seem to be any compost bins in the vicinity. Often times, compostable items are tossed into landfill due to the lack of visible compost bins.
Enter the ZotBins waste guide! When a user simply enters the ZotBins waste guide page, the page will automatically notify the user of the location of the nearest non-full compost bin by visually displaying it on a map. There is also the option to locate nearby landfill and recycling bins.
But what if the nearest compost bin is too far away? What if it is all the way across campus? Unfortunately, there is not too much we can do for you at the moment, but no worries! We will use your request to further improve the waste management system at UC Irvine! By collecting and analyzing requests to find the nearest bin, we can determine optimal bin placements around campus. For example, if we discover that many students in Donald Bren Hall are requesting to find the nearest compost bin, then soon enough, Donald Bren Hall will be flourishing with compost bins!
I recommend that all UC Irvine students, faculty, and guests take advantage of the ZotBins waste guide. Not only will users reduce their carbon footprint by throwing away their waste into the right bin, they will also provide the ZotBins team with valuable data that will help UC Irvine become a cleaner, more sustainable campus!