The ZotBins System is a website with “smart bins” deployed in various locations (i.e. buildings, college campuses, cities) that can accurately measure and record the amount of waste in each bin.
The main purpose of this project is to help keep communities clean, make waste management more efficient, and encourage the practice of zero waste (diverting waste away from landfill).
The 3 core features of this project are (1) to collect real-time data, (2) to manage a leaderboard system, and (3) to provide waste guidance.
- Collecting real-time data on bin fullness and weight of waste of each smart bin provides facilities management or city planners to calculate useful statistics (i.e. divergence rates or bin usage frequency). It also helps determine the efficacy of certain zero waste resources (i.e. more signage, trash sorters, different bin designs, etc.). With real-time data being collected, the ZotBins system can notify custodians or facilities management on whether a specific smart bin is currently full.
- The leaderboards is a feature that helps compare and contrast statistics of users (people who throw away waste in the smart bins), building floors, different buildings, or different areas. For example, one statistic that can be compared is the waste divergence rates (waste diverted away from landfill) among different city buildings. This leaderboard system can help incentive zero waste practices to users while also helping them develop zero waste practicing habits.
- The waste guidance feature of ZotBins is a digital guide that users interact with to locate nearest appropriate bins that are not full. This feature can also provide users with resources and interactive content that can educate them on zero waste as well.