| Could Robots Recycle For Us? |
| Written by Peg Fong | ||
| Thursday, 22 May 2008 | ||
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It sure would be easier if there were a way for a robot to do all of this for us. Unfortunately, Honda's Asimo (pictured) isn't ready for primetime. But the Barcode Trashcan by designer Woo Seok Park is a step in the right direction. Wave the item in front of the barcode and the correct lid opens. Sorting Simplified! Most products have a barcode attached that has a numeric value and the trashcan can read the barcode and open the correct lid. No more tossing in bottles where plastic goes and bubblewrap in with cardboard. It's a great idea for items like soft and hard plastic and bottles. For recyclables like newspapers or paper which don't have barcodes, the Barcode Trashcan assumes you can figure it out yourself. It's still in the concept phase now, and I'd like to see a bunch more automation in the process. But until we all get little robot helpers...something's gotta simplify life. Via shinyshiny
Comments
(2)
Question
written by Jessi , May 22, 2008
I am very interested about enviromental tegnology, but i wanted to know how much energy would be used to make these Barcode Trashcans and how much waste would we be creating to build the trashcans? And if the energy and materials used to make them would actually be wasting more than just recycling alone, or if it would have greater impacy on the earth for people to recycle as we do now and have people recycle less? I hope that made sense.
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written by Andrew , June 02, 2008
A far better solution: allow all recyclables to be mixed together in the same container and sort them at the recycling plant. Toronto's municipal recycling program does this (although it doesn't take #6 yet) and it makes recycling much more convenient.
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We all recycle...when it's convenient. But there are a ton of inefficiencies in the recycling process. These inefficiencies ad up to increased costs of recycling and decreased recycling rates. The whole thing gets too confusing for some people, especially the many-numbered plastics. Does my local recycling plant take 6's or just 2's and 4's.
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