Similar to a real-life WALL-E, the city of Tacoma, Washington, 30 miles south of Seattle, will use AI-powered cameras to identify items in recycling bins that don’t belong, local newspaper The News Tribune reported. Cameras on trucks will scan a home’s recycled materials, and if they find incorrectly placed items, residents will receive postcards with images of their trash and information on what can be recycled. The program is slated for a two-year run, supported by a $1.8 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Canada-based Prairie Robotics developed the system and has implemented it in cities like Regina, Saskatchewan; Fort St. John, British Columbia; and Southeastern Connecticut. Incorrectly placed trash can undermine the recycling process by forcing workers to spend time sorting materials and, at times, leading entire loads of products to be sent to the landfill.