From waste-sorting robots to water-soluble six-pack rings, students across the globe are pioneering the fight to reduce waste with new, revolutionary ideas.
These have caught our eye, and as waste removal experts, we cannot help but show them to you.Below, then, are four ideas that could change the future of waste.
- The Trashcam
Of all ideas, this is one of KwikSweep’s favourites. A group of middle-schoolers at Bay Area in San Francisco has in fact designed a working robot that sorts trash. Their Raspberry Pi-based device takes a picture of each piece of trash thrown away, and uses photo classification to tell people which bin to use. The students have found this tool improves the accuracy of waste sorting to more than 90%. Why is this not on London’s streets yet?
- Chipsulating Material
At their Florida middle school, a bunch of students in year 8 and 9 invented Chipsulation, a new kind of insulation made from shredded crisps bags. These bags usually contain polyethylene, which cannot be easily recycled. However, as insulation, the students have found that these bags can be more effective (and cheaper!) than the standard insulating materials used in construction.
- Waste-eating Bacteria
As we, at KwikSweep, know very well, polyethylene plastic cannot be recycled in most home recycling bins. However, a team of Canadian students might have found a solution to this problem. They have created a plastic “composter” that utilises bacteria to biodegrade polyethylene. The process takes, on average, 15 weeks, but it does work. We want this to be part of the future of waste removal in London.
- Styro-water filters?
This is perhaps the most curious of all four ideas. A team of students, now in year 10, have been working together for a whole three years, and have now finally mastered a patent-pending procedure to deal with Styrofoam waste. Their innovative low-temperature system turns Styrofoam into activated carbon, which can easily be used in most water filters!
If this is the future of waste removal and recycling, then we are on track to save our planet.
We, at KwikSweep, believe in these ideas, and want to see them become a reality.
In the meantime, if you have trouble with waste, get in touch with us. We will be more than happy to help you out, and most of our services are completed within 24 hours of your first call.
