Inspiration

Orange, blue, brown and yellow bins puzzled us the day we moved here. Every Bundesland—and sometimes every district—has its own colour code, and the rules are often available only in German. After watching newcomers toss deposit-eligible bottles into residual waste and realising how badly that contaminates recycling streams, we wanted an instant, language-agnostic helper.

What we built

WasteTips is a progressive web app that lets users:

Take or upload a photo of any household item.
Auto-fill their German ZIP code via browser geolocation (or enter it manually).
Select a language—or let the app pick from the browser settings (25 + languages supported).
Receive AI analysis powered by Gemini Vision plus ZIP-specific disposal advice: correct bin colour, deposit info, and municipal notes—all delivered in the chosen language.

Everything happens in under three seconds on a mid-range phone and works offline once loaded, turning confusion into climate action—one photo, one bin at a time.