More than half of all Americans don't know how to properly recycle.
Over 25% of waste is too contaminated for recycling channels and is diverted to landfills.
Contamination can increase the cost of recycling by as much as 25%.
Nonrecyclables in recycling streams can cause damage to machinery and harm to employees.
Recycling helps save our environment and wildlife!
92% of Americans don't understand how resin identification codes (RICs) work, and 68% believe that if an item has an RIC, it is curbside recyclable - this is false!
On multiple occasions, I've stood before trash cans and recycling bins, trying to decide which to put my trash into - and I know a lot of other people face the same issue.
Who we are.
The Recycle Disciple is a web application that allows users to scan plastic resin codes to identify whether or not an item is recyclable, and then it provides users instructions on how to safely recycle it. You can view a demo by Ayesha here.
How we're doing it
The Recycle Disciple strives to utilize qualities of citizen science, where community members can assist in scientific pursuits and improving their environment just at home. We utilize deep learning (a segment of machine learning) to train a model to identify scanned codes. Currently, the model is trained on a bunch of photos taken by Ayesha in her own home, and the more photos the model is trained on, the more accurately it can scan your images - which is where we need your help! While the application is currently functioning, we'd like to expand usabilty and make it an overall better user experience, and then send it out to the world for anyone to use! We provide service hours to high school students for your photo submissions through Sciology!
What's a plastic resin code?
A plastic resin code is the little recycling symbol with a number inside of it on plastic items. Many are unaware of what this means, and many assume that because fo the symbol they can recycle the item. This is false! The symbol rather differentiates how to recycle different types of plastic, and many are not curbside recyclable.
PET 1 - Can be recycled at curbside or your local recycling center
HDPE 2 - Can be recycled at curbside or your local recycling center. Lids may be replaced
PVC 3 - These are generally not recyclable. If you wish to recycle it, check with your local recycling center
LDPE 4 - These are generally not recyclable. If you wish to recycle it, check with your local recycling center
PP 5 - These are generaly recyclable and can likely be recycled at your curbside or local recycling center
PS 6 - These are generally not recyclable. If you wish to recycle it, check with your local recycling center
Other 7 - These are generally not recyclable. If you wish to recycle it, check with your local recycling center
Resources.
Play the "Is it Recyclable?" game on Sciology's website to understand your curbside recycling knowledge!
Read Ayesha's article on the Sciology website about recycling.
Ayesha is a junior at Mentor High School with enjoys making tools to simplify her life and sharing her love for STEM with others. Learn more her at www.afaruki.com