Smart Self-managing Recycling Bin System

Approximately, 2.01 billion tons of waste are generated by the world and 70% are openly dumped, Sub-Saharan Africa contributes 180 million of which 57 million tons are contributed by South Africans. South Africa recycles 10% of the generated waste. More and more strategies and techniques are needed to deal with generated waste to protect the planet. People are inherently drawn to comfort, and the average individual will seldom put in the extra effort if not forced by circumstances or encouraged by the pull of a reward. This paper proposes a Smart Self-managing Recycling Bin system that is coupled with a rewards program that aims to improve recycling awareness at the consumer level. A Raspberry Pi was used as the controller of the system, interfacing with strain gauges to measure recycled weight and a camera to read the user QR-code generated by the web application, used for identification of users and managing the rewards assigned. The web application is written in C# and dotNetCore framework. The system weight measurements with the strain gauges were 97% accurate at 7% tolerant. Users are rewarded for recycling by receiving discounts at certain stores. A questionnaire was sent to individuals to obtain information regarding recycling habits. The results showed that a majority of respondents could be encouraged to recycle through a reward system. The system could assist in waste management.