Arizona State University will begin introducing five new waste sorting machines powered by artificial intelligence, intended to encourage recycling and reduce contamination of recyclable materials.
The Oscar Sort systems will be located above compost, recycling and landfill bins on campus.
People can hold up their waste to a camera on the machine, which will then scan it and identify on a screen which specific bin those items belong in.
The installation of the technology will take place this spring at several of the university’s campuses, including in Phoenix and Tempe.
Alana Levine is director of the University Sustainability Practices Office.
“So we chose locations based on the population that was in the area. These are high, high traffic areas where the machines are being located," she said.
She says the system gathers information.
“They collect data on what kinds of materials are being placed in each of the bins and whether or not people are actually following the choices that are being presented to them at the bin," she said.
The machines are a partnership between Coca-Cola and the company Intuitive AI.
A trial program of the technology at ASU began in 2021.
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