In a new effort to promote recycling, the University of Kentucky has rolled out new technology to help the recycling process much easier for students.
This new system at UK, introduced this week, runs on artificial intelligence (AI), which is pushing its way into the waste management and recycling industries, among countless others.
This new AI recycling system on the UK campus, named Oscar Sort, is a system that gives anyone on campus instant feedback of the item in their hand and whether it should be recycled, parts of it should be recycled, or it should be fully thrown out.
Oscar Sort can identify a cup in a student’s hand and machine will tell the student that the cup can be recycled, however, the straw must be thrown in the trash.
This new technology is the latest step in UK’s drive toward being a zero-waste campus. Recycling & Waste Reduction Specialist Senior Ryan Lark stated that UK’s goal is to be a zero-waste campus by 2030.