How Smart Recycling Bins Can Help Promote Proper Recycling Habits

As the effects of climate change become more and apparent with extreme weather conditions being experienced all over the world such as the 2022 European Drought, which was the worst in 500 years, we should all be thinking more about ways to protect our environment. One way everyone can do their part is to recycle properly. However, it’s easier said than done. Not only is there a lack of recycling bins in public areas, we often see the occurrence of ‘wishcycling’, where individuals put anything in the recycling bin in the hope that it will be recycled. This leads to contamination of recyclable material and extra manpower to re-sort at the back end. There are ways to encourage proper recycling and minimize wishcycling though. In this blog, we will take a look at some of those ways and how smart recycling bins can help promote proper recycling habits.

Ways to encourage good recycling habits

One of the best ways to encourage good recycling habits is to start young. Our children should be educated on how to recycle properly from an early age with activities such as sorting games where the children explain why they chose certain items for recycling, and others not.

For communities, there first needs to be easily accessible recycling bins available in convenient public places. Then people need to be educated and incentivized to use them properly through local campaigns with set goals and clear benefits, or even through local government financial rewards.

How can smart recycling bins help?

All that being said, the sad fact is that if anything seems like hard work, many people won’t bother. And this is often the case with recycling properly. Thankfully, advances in technology are taking this pain point away with innovations such as GF Technovation Hong Kong’s Auto-sorting Recycling Bin.

An auto-sorting recycling bin is a smart recycling bin. This means it is equipped with AI and image processing which automatically identifies the type of waste disposed into the bin, then sorts it into plastic, paper, metal or glass. All the user has to do is put their waste item in and the bin will do the rest. It features an auto-compaction function, a fill level displayed on the touch screen display and on the app, and further data can be accessed on the cloud for analysis. The bin is perfect for promoting recycling in areas of heavy human traffic such as theme parks, offices, campuses, hospitals, stations, residential areas, convention centers, etc.

See GF Technovation Hong Kong’s Auto-sorting Recycling Bin in action here:

The benefits of using an AI recycling bin

• Auto-sorting of waste items to prevent contamination of recyclable material
• Easy and fun to use
• Enclosed system to prevent intentional misuse
• Equipped with sensors to indicate the fill level in real time for prompt collections
• Can be equipped with auto-deodorization and sterilization for better hygiene
• Easily accessible data via the cloud to provide insights on usage, weight and type of items by volume, etc.

Learn more about GF Technovation Hong Kong’s Auto-sorting Recycling Bin

Promoting good recycling habits is essential to prevent further damage to our environment. Contact GF Technovation Hong Kong today to learn more about AI recycling bins and other innovations in waste management.