Trash or recycle? Ask the AI-generated Oscar Sort machine

By Perrin Gilman, Staff Writer

Published Nov 7, 2024

Sammy Pisano is throwing away his trash in the library, one of the three locations of Oscar Sort. (Perrin Gilman)

TCU has joined an effort to reduce waste by introducing three AI-powered sorting machines. Stationed in King Family Commons, the University Recreation Center and the Mary Couts Burnett Library, the Oscar Sort machine, equipped with a television screen and a camera, sits above trash and recycle bins. Users hold their trash up to the camera to be identified, and then a message on the screen identifies the correct bin for disposal. The machines are also being tested at universities across the United States, including the University of Kentucky, Towson University, Miami University and Arizona State University.

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Three Oscar Sort machines, which use intuitive AI, were donated to TCU by PepsiCo, one of Oscar Sort’s partners, said Miles Oller, the director for Student Affairs Facilities. “Pepsi came to us knowing that there are so many recyclable goods,” Oller said. “There’s a push for a green initiative, and we struggle with recycling here to begin with.” Oller said that he and his team intentionally installed the machines in dwelling places where students gather. “We didn’t put one directly outside Union Grounds because people usually get things there, but they don’t stay there,” Oller said. “We tried to pick places where people end up.”

Oscar Sort understands TCU’s single-stream recycling process

The dos and don’ts of single-stream recycling. (Source: The New Haven Solid Waste and Recycling Authority)

TCU uses a single-stream recycling process where all recyclable goods are placed into the same bin, according to TCU’s sustainability website. The items are later transported to a waste management facility in Arlington, where they are sorted by category. Oller said students are often confused about single-stream recycling and that Oscar Sort helps simplify the process. “This machine has been taught with the AI of what our single-stream process is and how to delineate between what is recyclable and what is not,” Oller said. Sammy Pisano, a first-year student double majoring in business and political science, said that Oscar Sort reduces confusion when deciding whether to dispose of waste in a trash or recycling bin.

Will AI help regulate recycling on campus?

While the Oscar Sort machine is combining artificial intelligence with sustainability, Dr. Brendan Lavy, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental & Sustainability Sciences and a member of TCU’s sustainability committee, said that the machine’s focus shouldn’t be on sorting waste; it should be on preventing it. “While using AI to tell people whether an item goes in recycling or trash might seem innovative, it’s essentially an expensive way to replicate a simple sign,” Lavy said. “I think the real opportunity lies in using AI to educate consumers at the point of disposal.”

Lavy teaches an environmental sustainability class where he covers topics such as waste management. He said that he teaches his students about the importance of the waste management hierarchy, which categorizes waste management strategies from the most to least environmentally friendly. He said that the Oscar Sort machine should be used to educate students about the importance of waste management. “Imagine if instead of just sorting, these systems could tell you that your plastic bottle has less than a 9% chance of actually being recycled and will likely persist in the environment for 450 years,” Lavy said. “This kind of immediate feedback could help people make more environmentally conscious purchasing decisions and understand the true impact of their consumption habits.”