iCAN Project

Problem: There are too many recyclables in the landfill.

Sources of Information:

• Field Trips
  • Phoenix Recycling Center
  • Montezuma County Landfill
• Speaker
  • Nancy Andrews – she set up the recycling program for the City of Durango.
• Group Research
  • We went dumpster diving at our sponsor’s office to see what was thrown away.
• Individual Research
  • We each researched the path of a piece of waste from our hands to its final destination
• Government Paper
  • The EPA’s 2012 Report on Municipal Solid Waste
• Videos
  • Video Field Trip – Landfill
  • How Landfills Are Built and Operated
  • Single-Stream Recycling – Leading the Way to Zero Waste – Boulder County

Problem Analysis: We spent a long time understanding how trash and recycling are handled both locally and nationally and even some worldwide. We are striving to not create waste ourselves and found a solution that can help everywhere.

Review of Existing Solutions:

None of the currently available options sort all recycling from trash and they are all research projects, not commercial products.

• Automated Waste Sorting Receptacle Georgia Tech
• Oscar the recycling bin
• Sorting Trash Can
• Deep Learning on IoT, Smart Trash Bin, Edison
• Smart Trash Bin | Final Project

Team Solution: The iCan is a self-sorting waste can that sorts all recycling from trash, teaches people so they will do it on their own, and makes it fun and easy, so they will keep doing it.

Innovation: Our solution is a unique product that will make the world better on its own, by keeping recyclables out of the landfill and even more by making it fun for people to learn about recycling.

Implementation: All the electronic pieces of the iCan can be purchased for around $300, making it inexpensive. The outer shell is a simple design made to work with already available dual trash cans so it will be easy to manufacture. We talked with SE-OC Technical Business Incubation about how to make it a real product.

Sharing: We presented the iCan to many groups who would benefit from it.

• Members of the La Plata County Environmental Committee
• Durango’s Director of City Operations (oversees city trash and recycling services)
• Durango’s Trash and Recycling Manager
• Durango’s Sustainability Coordinator (promotes recycling education)
• Durango’s Assistant to the City Manager (writes policies to reduce waste)
• Nancy Andrews (Implemented the Durango Recycling Center)
• SE-OC Technical Business Incubation (Implemention of the iCan)
• La Plata Electric Association
• Community Members, Friends, and Family