Home Waste Separator System
Home Waste Separator System (HWSS)
A household chute is converted to a recyclable system, where users can recycle their waste at the comfort of their own homes.
Problem Statement
Singapore’s recycling rate has fallen to a 10-year low since 2020 and there are many factors that have resulted in low recycling rates in the country. One of them is due to the lack of accessibility as recycling bins are less present in housing communities. Additionally, house owners find it extremely inconvenient to carry their bulky household waste and find the nearest recycling bin, before sorting the waste for disposal.
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Thus, we wanted to transform the common household chute into a recycling system where users can sort and recycle their waste at the comfort of their own homes. We took inspiration from the different multicoloured recycling bins found in public areas and implemented the colour coded system in our solution. Moreover, we wanted to further develop on the centralised chute for recyclables in housing estates. This is because we are concerned that the approach is a tedious and inefficient process, as cleaners would have to manually sort out the recyclable waste into different materials before sending it for recycling.
Hence, we developed a solution for users to utilise their household chute by conveniently sorting their waste into different materials for recycling. This also eliminates the process for cleaners to manually sort out the recyclables at the common waste facility.
Overview of HWSS
The Home Waste Separator System has four compartments (Plastics, Glass, Cans and Paper) for house owners to sort out their waste, before throwing it into the respective compartments for recycling. It solves the hassle for cleaners to sort household rubbish at the common sorting facility and encourages users on the habit of recycling.
Our design solution provides convenience and ease of access for users to recycle from their homes.
Our Inspiration
Pre Installed Recycling Chute in Several Neighbourhoods in Singapore
The HWSS aims to transform the ordinary design of a rubbish chute to a recycling system, which is pre-installed in every household. In Singapore, there is a centralised recycling chute installed at the common area of every floor in several neighbourhood communities. In comparison, our solution focuses on its implementation in every household and its design guides users to independently sort their own waste for recycling, rather than having a sorting facility for cleaners to manually sort the waste.
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It has several features such as braille and colour coded labelling with light beacon notifications to assist users with disabilities, on learning how to sort and recycle at home.
Our solution also consists of a mobile app where users can track and monitor the amount of household waste they've recycled. They are able to earn points from recycling and the points can be used to redeem cash/retail vouchers. This encourages users on the feasibility of learning to recycle.
Design Process
Our initial idea on deciding how the HWSS detects whether the waste is sorted correctly, was installing a light emitter and sensor in each compartment. The emitter will produce light and it will be shone through the waste for the sensor to detect the value of light intensity. The light intensity will hit a specific range of values from the sensor and the waste's material can be interpreted from the range.
However, we discovered that due to external environmental conditions, it may lead to inaccurate light intensity readings, which is difficult for the sensor to distinguish between different opacities of plastic and glass materials.
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Initial Sketch of HWSS Prototype
Thus, we transitioned to the concept of computer vision through image recognition. With machine learning programming, it gave more accurate results in detecting the material of the object from photos taken by the image processing camera.
Originally, we only planned to word label the materials, but as we aspire the HWSS to reach out to an expanding target audience, we experimented on different methods of categorisation such as colour coding, braille and light alerts, to cater to the user's visual and touch senses.
This convinces users that sorting and recycling waste is not a chore, but it is based on human instinct and memory when using the HWSS.
How It Works
Front View of HWSS
The HWSS is designed to have four recyclable compartments within the household chute. These four compartments (Plastic, Glass, Cans and Paper) are colour coded and labelled for users to sort their waste for recycling. In each compartment, an image processing camera is installed at the top of the compartment.
The camera has a computer vision system where it is able to detect, identify and quantify the object of interest. It is programmed to analyse the material of the object placed inside the compartment. If the waste material is the same as the label of the compartment, the camera would be able to interpret from image recognition and a light beacon will flash green to inform the user that the waste is sorted correctly for recycling.
However, if the waste material is different from the compartment's label, the camera would be able to detect and the light beacon would flash red to alert the user that the waste is sorted wrongly, and it is not to be thrown.
Implementation of HWSS in Households
Additionally, there are four tubes attached to the HWSS, with each tube connected to each compartment. Once the recyclable waste has been sorted by the user from one of the four compartments, the waste will be transported through the tube connected to the compartment.
Moreover, the end of each tube will be connected to a recycling bin for each sorted recyclable material. Those recycling bins will be placed in a recycling facility, located at every ground level block of a neighbourhood.
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Our solution also involves a mobile application where users can track the amount of household waste that they have recycled from using the HWSS. Once the camera identifies that the waste material recycled is in the correct compartment, its machine learning algorithm will keep track of the number of recycled materials from each compartment, and its data will be recorded in the mobile app.
Therefore, users are able to monitor the amount of waste that they have recycled in their household. Our purpose in the gamification of the app is not only to raise awareness on the importance of recycling, but we also strive to encourage users on how household recycling can be efficient, and yet convenient when using the HWSS.
CAD Images of HWSS
AutoDesk Fusion 360 Drawings of HWSS
Future Goals
Conclusion
References
We aim to expand the development of the HWSS to further sort out various materials for recycling. Currently, our solution is able to sort recyclable waste into plastic, glass, cans and paper. In addition, we strive to branch into sorting and recycling of other various materials, such as wood, metal and food waste, etc. This is because sorting recyclable waste is crucial in removing any contaminants and impurities, and if they continue to remain in the waste, the waste would be deemed unable for recycling.
With our current goals for the HWSS to promote the feasibility of recycling, we have also planned out our long-term goals in its development as well. We look forward to providing the HWSS as a technological solution, in encouraging our society to explore the idea of recycling a wide variety of waste products, so as to cultivate the habit of everyday recycling.
Furthermore, we aspire to implement the HWSS within the manufacturing industry in Singapore. This is because it is reported that the manufacturing sector has contributed to a significant amount of waste generation in our country.
Hicks, R. (2021, April 23). Singapore’s recycling rate falls to 10-year low. Eco-Business.
https://www.eco-business.com/news/singapores-recycling-rate-falls-to-10-year-low/
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Wah, T. Y. (2021, March 2). Commentary: Why does Singapore still lack a recycling ethos? CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/singapore-low-recycling-rates-reasons-why-368996
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M. (2016, January 19). Recycling chutes on every floor at 16 BTO projects. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/recycling-chutes-on-every-floor-at-16-bto-projects
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News Releases. (2021). National Environmental Agency, Singapore. https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/overall-waste-generation-and-recycling-rates-increased-in-2021-as-economic-activity-picked-up
This personal project provided us in tackling the topic of waste management in the future, we believe that our technological solution is able to provide an environmentally-friendly and effective method of recycling, to encourage the society in fulfilling Singapore’s long-term goal as a Zero Waste Nation.
Project Designers - Brian Cheng & Ramanathan Kumarappan
CAD (Autodesk Fusion 360) & Renders - Brian Cheng
Website Interface Designer - Ramanathan Kumarappan