Chosen theme and problem statement
Our chosen problem statement is Q2 of the Environment theme.
What our hack does
The GreenSGBot aims to provide convenience in finding out recycling information. Here are its 3 main commands!
- /info : takes in user input and informs them if an item is recyclable
- /searchbin : informs users of nearby e-waste bins by requesting user's location
- /postalcodesearchbin : finds the nearest e-waste bins based on the postal code sent by the user.
The information command takes in various types of input and provides suggestions when the user's input is too generic so that they do not have to follow a strict input. The e-waste commands also include information on what type of e-waste can be recycled for the particular e-waste bin so that users do not have to make a wasted trip :)
How our hack answer the problem statement
We felt that a big reason why Singapore's recycling rate is low is that there was a lack of awareness on what items could be recycled and where they could find e-waste recycling bins. Hence, we wanted to create an information Telegram bot to solve this problem. The bot helps to make recycling easier as users can simply send messages to the bot to find out whether their item is suitable for recycling and whether they can throw it into the recycling blue bins. For e-waste that are only collected at special e-waste collection bins, the bot helps users to find the nearest collection points, making it more accessible and convenient. Our bot provides a solution for more convenient recycling where information is readily accessible with minimal user action.
How we built it
We created a database and populated it. The bot is then written in python and queries the database when necessary, to provide information to the user.
Challenges we ran into
We were unable to calculate the one nearest e-waste bin to the user as the longitude and latitude coordinates from a telegram.Location were not precise enough for calculation by geopy and hence the postal code was not exact. Thus, we could only make use of the sector code to search for nearest e-waste bins. However, we believe we can solve this problem given more time.
Biggest learning point from LifeHack 2022
We have never created Telegram bots before and through this experience we became more familiar with the development of one. We also learnt to make use of databases to provide real time information.
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