To Recycle or to Not to Recycle

Inspiration

We have noticed frequently that people do not put their trash in the correct bins despite the bins having distinct colors and labels. Therefore, we wish to spread awareness about recycling amongst kids through our app.

What it does

It creates a game-like environment where kids can select whether certain products are recyclable or not. They earn or lose points based on their answers.

How we built it

We used Android Studios to design the app layout and write its code. We implemented features such as buttons, image views, spinners, etc.

Challenges we ran into

Our team does not have a lot of coding experience so we found it challenging to implement our ideas through code. Therefore, we had to comprise and select a more basic idea in order to actually have a working app.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of the fact that we were able to create a working product before the deadline. We are also proud of the fact that we decided to make a smart choice to let go of our other ideas and select a simpler one so that we can actually implement it.

What we learned

We learned that we have a lot more to learn and are excited to gain more experience with coding.

What's next for To Recycle or to Not to Recycle

In the future, we can use a larger data set to increase the array of questions and information on the app. Additionally, we hope to add a timer to make this app more competitive. Lastly, we can design a model that identifies items that are very similar, except for one or two features that determine whether the item can be recycled or not (for example, a cardboard box vs a contaminated pizza box). These images will be presented in pairs to the users, who will then have to choose which one is recyclable. We believe that making this app more competitive will increase the engagement of the users.