PinBin

Our Story: Building the Donation Box Finder

Inspiration

We were inspired by a simple question: How many usable items end up in landfills because people don’t know where to donate?
This project was born to make donation effortless, visible, and engaging while promoting sustainability.

How We Built It

• Google Maps Platform for real-time geolocation, pinning, and route directions.
  
• FastAPI backend with geo-indexed database to store all donation boxes.
  
• Gamified UI: users earn achievements when they add or visit pins, turning giving into a rewarding experience.
  

What We Learned

• Leveraging geospatial queries for community-driven mapping.
  
• Designing user experiences that encourage sustainable behaviors.
  
• The power of crowdsourcing to reduce waste and extend product life cycles.
  

Challenges

• Handling accurate reverse geocoding and CORS without backend changes.
  
• Optimizing real-time map updates with thousands of pins while keeping it simple for users.
  

Impact & Sustainability

Every pin added redirects usable goods from landfills to people in need. With community-driven data and gamification,
we’re not just mapping donation boxes, we’re mapping a path to a more sustainable future.

Built With

• fastapi
• figma
• google-maps
• javascript
• mongodb
• python