EcoThrive 🌱♻️

Inspiration

We were inspired by the growing environmental crisis and the urgent need for sustainable waste management. Many people want to help but don’t know where to start. EcoThrive makes it easy by providing tools to reduce waste, recycle correctly, and connect with a green-minded community.

What it does

EcoThrive is an all-in-one sustainability app that helps users:

  • Scan waste items to determine the best disposal method
  • Locate e-waste drop-off centers near them
  • Join a community to participate in green initiatives and events
  • Access a sustainability guide for everyday eco-friendly habits
  • Chat with an AI assistant for environmental advice

How we built it

We developed EcoThrive using:

  • Teachable Machine to train our AI waste classification model
  • Thunkable for the mobile app interface
  • Google Maps to find e-waste disposal locations
  • Firebase for user authentication and data storage
  • JotForm for building the AI chatbot
  • Nas.io for creating the community, hosting events and publishing informative guides
  • API used to connect firebase to Thunkable
  • Built-in-camera used for taking pictures of items and submitting volunteer profiles
  • Push notifications used for alerting users about recent updates

Challenges we ran into

  • Optimizing AI image recognition for accurate waste classification
  • Integrating APIs for seamless location-based services
  • Creating a user-friendly interface that makes sustainability accessible to all

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Successfully building a functional waste-scanning feature
  • Developing a chatbot that answers environmental questions
  • Creating a platform that promotes real-world green actions

What we learned

  • How to implement AI-driven waste detection
  • The complexities of integrating various APIs
  • The importance of community engagement in sustainability

What's next for EcoThrive

  • Expanding our AI model for more accurate waste categorization
  • Adding reward-based challenges to encourage eco-friendly habits
  • Partnering with organizations to promote large-scale sustainability efforts

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