SRG (Smart Recycling Guide)

Recycle trash, earn treats! SRG uses AI to reward your recycling efforts with 'Surprise Boxes' of rescued food from local partners. One scan for the planet, one meal for you.

Comment

Inspiration

Every year, millions of tons of food go to waste while our environment struggles with plastic pollution. We asked ourselves: "What if your waste could buy someone a meal?" This led to the creation of SRG (Smart Recycling Guide). Our goal is to bridge the gap between environmental sustainability and social responsibility by turning recyclables into a currency for food.

What it does

"SRG is a dual-impact ecosystem designed to gamify the circular economy by bridging the gap between environmental sustainability and social responsibility. The app features an AI-powered camera that allows users to scan recyclables like plastic, cans, and paper to earn XPs and build 'Green Streaks.' These rewards are then redeemable for 'Surprise Boxes' containing high-quality surplus food from local restaurant partners that would otherwise go to waste. This model provides a significant marketing advantage for our partners, as they gain valuable visibility and brand loyalty by being showcased as 'Eco-Heroes' within the app. By turning potential food waste into a powerful promotional tool, SRG creates a win-win scenario where restaurants enhance their green reputation while users are incentivized to protect the environment through tangible, delicious rewards."

How we built it

We developed the MVP using a robust mobile tech stack:

  • Flutter & Dart: For a fast, responsive, and cross-platform user interface.
  • AI Object Detection: Integrated to classify waste types in real-time.
  • Clean Architecture: Organized the code into layers (Data, Domain, Presentation) to ensure scalability.
  • Gamification Engine: Developed a custom logic for XP calculation and streak retention.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest hurdle was the extreme time constraint. Building a functional prototype that connects two vast domains (Recycling and Food Rescue) in just 2 days with midterm exams required intense prioritization. We had to focus on the "Core Loop" scanning and rewards—to ensure a working demo for the judges.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Successfully bridging two UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into one app.
  • Building a functional Flutter app with a sleek UI in record time with my exams.
  • Evolving SRG from a simple guide into a full-scale social entrepreneurship model.
  • Previous validation by being shortlisted in the Top 50 of Octopus Hackathon Season 1.

What we learned

This hackathon taught us the power of Rapid Prototyping. I learned how to transform a complex concept into a simple, user-centric journey. We also gained deeper insights into the "Circular Economy" and how technology can incentivize positive behavioral changes toward the environment.

What's next for SRG (Smart Recycling Guide)

Our vision is to expand SRG into a global platform. The next steps include:

  • Advanced Impact Tracking: Showing users their exact carbon footprint reduction.
  • Restaurant Expansion: Partnering with major food chains to maximize the "Surprise Box" reach. ## Tour app video https://youtube.com/shorts/aEZTMi-y8Rg

Built With

Share this project:

Updates