Bin buddy

Inspiration

Many people want to recycle correctly but are unsure which bin different items belong to. Incorrect sorting leads to contaminated recycling streams and increased waste. We were inspired to create a tool that makes waste sorting simple, educational, accessible, and fun for everyone.

What it does

Bin Buddy is an AI-powered web application that helps users correctly sort waste. Users can scan items with their camera, and our AI identifies the object and tells them which bin it belongs to: garbage, recycling, or organic. The platform also includes short educational lessons, quizzes to reinforce learning, and a game that makes practicing waste sorting fun and interactive.

How we built it

We built Bin Buddy as a web application using modern web technologies. The AI scanner uses image recognition through the Anthropic Claude API to identify objects from camera images. The frontend provides an interactive learning interface with lessons, quizzes, and a sorting game. User progress and leaderboard scores are stored in a database to track engagement and competition between users. We also used AI tools to make design and animations.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was integrating AI image recognition into a real-time camera scanning feature while keeping responses fast and reliable. We also needed to ensure the AI provided accurate results and handled uncertain images without giving misleading answers. Another challenge was designing the educational content to be both informative and engaging within short learning sessions.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

First of all, we are the most proud of participating in our very first hackathon and building a real project. We are proud of creating a platform that combines AI technology with interactive education in a simple and user-friendly way. The camera scanner, learning modules, quizzes, and game all work together to make waste sorting intuitive and engaging. We’re especially proud of building a working AI-powered feature and a complete learning experience within a short hackathon timeframe.

What we learned

Through this project we learned how to use AI tools to keep up with the pace of always developing society and computer science field. We also learned how to integrate AI APIs into a web application, design user-friendly educational interfaces, and build interactive learning experiences. We also gained experience working with image recognition, real-time feedback systems, and gamification to improve user engagement.

What's next for Bin buddy

In the future, we plan to expand Bin Buddy by adding more waste categories such as electronic waste and hazardous materials. We also want to improve AI accuracy, support different regional recycling rules, and develop a mobile version of the platform to make waste sorting assistance even more accessible.