Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are planning to use tiny mobile sensors to track 3,000 pieces of household waste from garbage can to final destination. By showing people where their discarded waste actually goes, and where it ends up, researchers hope to reduce the amount of trash consumers throw away.
Trash for the project—from kitchen garbage and yard waste to discarded computers and cell phones—is being donated by volunteers in three major cities: New York, Seattle and London.
"[Waste] doesn't simply disappear when we throw it away, and all too often it ends up causing damage when it could be recycled instead,” said Michael Warhurst, Senior Waste Campaigner for Friends of the Earth in an interview with BBC News. "People must have much better information on—and control over—where their rubbish and recycling ends up."
Each of the thousands of mobile sensors being used to tag a piece of trash operates like a miniature cell phone, continuously broadcasting its location to a central server where the results are collected and plotted on a map in real time.
Because cell phone technology is inexpensive and available worldwide, the researchers at MIT believe they will be able to track the garbage no matter where in the world it ends up. This global capability could be particularly important in tracking electronic waste, which is often shipped to Africa and disposed of incorrectly or illegally.
The results of the two U.S. studies will be displayed in September at exhibitions in New York and Seattle. Mark your calendars.
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Comments
It’ll probably end up on the side of the road. I think manufacturers should have to have a plan for how their packing and product will be disposed of before it’s ever created.