Recycle n' Grow

Inspiration

This idea came to be when one of our friends asked us if aluminum was recyclable. None of us knew the answer and we searched up how many people wonder something similar. Realizing around 76% of the population has similar questions. We came up with the idea of coding this program. We wanted a fun and engaging way for students to learn about their environment. This jogs curiosity among children to learn more about their environment and how they can protect it.

What it does

This program aims to educate students and fellow peers on the value of recycling and how to distinguish between recyclable and non-recyclable materials. In addition, we hope to promote sustainable choices and responsible conduct, helping create a more environmentally friendly future using educated trash management techniques. The user starts off with a tree full of randomized waste. The user then clicks on any object they think is recyclable and if the object is recyclable, the plant grows. If the object is not recyclable, a puff of pollution makes the plant disappears. Through this program, users can witness the real-life consequences of incorrect recycling through the application's visual graphics and feedback, promoting a better comprehension of the environmental effects.

How we built it

We first planned out a few ideas and chose this topic in the end. We made this program using a coding platform called Replit. Then, we imported images using Canva into Replit. We created a list of items that are recyclable and non-recyclable with the corresponding graphics and used a range function to select 5 items from the lists. We displayed the items on the tree and defined a function to check whether the item is recyclable or not recyclable when it is clicked on. If it is not we display a cloud of pollution gas and if it is recyclable we display a plant. After all the items have been selected, we display a message indicating that the user has finished the game.

Challenges we ran into

One of the challenges we overcame in developing this program included how we would display each item on the screen. To overcome this, we employed coding skills to generate a distinct turtle for each item displayed on the screen, assuring the program's ability to manage the range of recyclable and non-recyclable items in the game. In addition, our application was further improved by adding functionality to the overall program by coordinating image imports utilizing Canva. These hardships allowed us to hone our coding techniques, develop creative fixes, and collaborate effectively to create a seamless instructional application.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

One of our biggest accomplishments was finishing our program within the time frame we were given. As well as being able to get over the errors we got while programming. We are glad we all worked together on this as a group.

What we learned

We learned more about recyclable and non recyclable items and the benefits on the environment such as plants. We learned how to import images and add functionality to them through our code in python. Furthermore we learned some new turtle methods/functions such as reading the user keyboard, on click, and animation through images. These helped us present the output we have.

What's next for Recycle n' Grow

We are thinking for the future for Recycle n' Grow is to add a timer to the program and print out a scoreboard at the end of the game. We also want to implement more objects by either using an API or any other sort of code to help increase our database. We also hope to implement this in schools so children can learn about recycling at a young age. Therefore will be able to preserve the environment.