Virtual Trash Talker:
Try an online Trash Talker at: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/108904091/
The items are:
The items are:
- Cardboard cereal box
- Paint can
- Soda can
- Water bottle
- Styrofoam egg carton
- Bag of chips
Our Question:
How can we reduce the amount of trash that ends up in recycling systems?
Our Innovative Solution:
We have created a device, Trash Talker, which:
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Our One-of-a-kind Database:
Our database is one of the special features on our Trash Talker. We tried very hard to find a database that had products that were all purely recyclable, and didn't succeed in finding anything. So, we decided to create our own. We created a Python program which allows for us to scan a barcode, and write it to a text file, which we access when seeing if a product is recyclable or not. This is very convenient because we only scanned recyclable items, so everything in the database is recyclable! To get the barcodes, we went to a variety of stores, like Harris Teeter, Costco, and Giant, and scanned A LOT (and we mean A LOT) of barcodes there. So far, our database has over 1,700 barcodes and counting!
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From left to right: Caroline, Yiyi and Heather
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About This Year's Project:
our Data
We took samples of the recycling bins in our area. We took pictures of the contents of almost 100 recycling bins to see how much trash was placed in an average recycling bin. Here are some of the recycling cans sampled:
From our data, we found that of the 89 households sampled...
Here is a graph of the things that we found that people incorrectly recycled in the households we surveyed:
- 7 households incorrectly recycled styrofoam
- 1 household incorrectly recycled certain plastic products
- 4 households incorrectly recycled food waste
- 4 households incorrectly recycled the lids from soft drink lids
- 1 household incorrectly recycled #6 plastic
- 2 households incorrectly recycled styrofoam egg cartons
- 24 incorrectly recycled plastic bags
- In total, 43 households recycled incorrectly
Here is a graph of the things that we found that people incorrectly recycled in the households we surveyed:
ROI (return of investment)
We calculated that there were about 360,000 (213,000 single family homes + 115,000 dwelling units) households in Montgomery County, so we would need to have that amount + more (if they break, etc.) We figured out that the county loses about $3.6 million dollars a year, as Montgomery County wastes 37,626 tons of trash in recycling a year, and it costs $56 to dump trash in landfills, and $40 to sell the recycling. Therefore, for each ton of recycling, the county loses $96 ($56+$40). Our goal is for the Trash Talker to cost $2.50-$3.50. Even if the Trash Talker costs $9, the county will still earn over $1,000,000 a year.
Here is the ROI calculations spreadsheet:
Here is the ROI calculations spreadsheet:
OUR interview with mark charles
We interviewed Mark Charles, the Chief of Environmental Management in Rockville.
Sample Questions:
How much does it cost to recycle something?
Aluminum cans are worth a lot. Glass is not worth much from the people who received the recycling. Fleece is made by recycled plastic bottles, so fleece can be recycled. Most products are downgraded when they are recycled. for instance, recycled paper becomes napkins, Kleenex, or toilet paper.
What can be recycled that people don’t know about?
Aerosol spray cans can be recycled once empty (air freshener, hair spray, whipped cream, etc.) Packaging tape on packages can be recycled. Look at the majority of the materials are, and decide if it’s recyclable. Rinse out containers before recycling, to prevent odors, which attract bugs. Plastic bubble wrap is recyclable. All electronics are recyclable. Paper with paint is recyclable because they can remove the color. Full cans of Latex paints can be recycled.
Does recycling pay for all of its expenses? If not, then how much do you still need to pay?
It pays for part of its expenses, but not all of it. The total amount of money the city uses is 3 million, but they earn 500 thousand from recycling. It doesn’t pay for gasoline for the trucks and staff.
Aluminum cans are worth a lot. Glass is not worth much from the people who received the recycling. Fleece is made by recycled plastic bottles, so fleece can be recycled. Most products are downgraded when they are recycled. for instance, recycled paper becomes napkins, Kleenex, or toilet paper.
What can be recycled that people don’t know about?
Aerosol spray cans can be recycled once empty (air freshener, hair spray, whipped cream, etc.) Packaging tape on packages can be recycled. Look at the majority of the materials are, and decide if it’s recyclable. Rinse out containers before recycling, to prevent odors, which attract bugs. Plastic bubble wrap is recyclable. All electronics are recyclable. Paper with paint is recyclable because they can remove the color. Full cans of Latex paints can be recycled.
Does recycling pay for all of its expenses? If not, then how much do you still need to pay?
It pays for part of its expenses, but not all of it. The total amount of money the city uses is 3 million, but they earn 500 thousand from recycling. It doesn’t pay for gasoline for the trucks and staff.
Missions
These are the missions we are doing:
- Compost
- Engine
- Methane (in truck and factory)
- Truck
- Toy Planes
- Plastic Bag + Turtle
- Octopus and Chicken
- Demolition + Valuables
- Careers
- Plastic Bag in Sorting
- Repurposing
final robot run at state: 652 points
Watch it in 1080 HD or it'll be very blurry!
All the Attachments for Each Run!
Our Attachments + their Names!
Sharing and Presenting!
We shared our idea for the Trash Talker with Mark Charles, the Chief of Environmental Management in Rockville, during our interview with him. He thought we had a good idea and gave us a few suggestions, like adding icons for people who are color blind, and symbols for people who don't speak English.
We met with him again a few days before our Qualifier competition. We presented our prototype to him. He said that he could see Rockville distributing our project to households, and that it would be useful to the city.
We also brought the Trash Talker to our school. We showed it to the students there and demonstrated what it could do. We explained the problem that we are trying to solve with our innovative solution.
After Qualifiers, we visited Mr. Pultyniewicz, who is the Head of Waste Control in Montgomery County and presented our second and third versions of the prototype. He gave us many good ideas for improving our database, which we had gotten many questions about.
Then we shared our project with people from the GSA (General Services Administration). They gave us many great ideas on practical ways to use our product, such as on a keychain while shopping.
We brought our project prototype to the USA Science and Engineering Fair, a national science fair, and we showed it to people there. One person from the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) was very interested in our project and told us that the EPA often helped students with projects like ours.
After States, we met with Girl Scouts troop #1162 to talk about FLL, our project, and the robot board. We first had them do an exercise so we could get to know them. We instructed them to get in order from birthdays starting in January all the way to December, and gave them 3 minutes to accomplish this task! They finished in a record time of 1:32! #GIRLPOWER!!
We then explained the basics of FLL, and we showed them a sample instant challenge, and had them divide into two groups. They were given marshmallows, popsicle sticks, and a couple of rubber bands, and were told to construct a tower that could hold up a book! We then explained the robot board to them, and they again, split up into groups. Heather and Aiesha explained how to program, and Aviva and Yiyi explained how the board works, how to run it, align it, etc. We then had them write down their favorite part, and many said programming! The Girl Scouts did extremely well, and they might just be the next big FLL team(s)!
We met with him again a few days before our Qualifier competition. We presented our prototype to him. He said that he could see Rockville distributing our project to households, and that it would be useful to the city.
We also brought the Trash Talker to our school. We showed it to the students there and demonstrated what it could do. We explained the problem that we are trying to solve with our innovative solution.
After Qualifiers, we visited Mr. Pultyniewicz, who is the Head of Waste Control in Montgomery County and presented our second and third versions of the prototype. He gave us many good ideas for improving our database, which we had gotten many questions about.
Then we shared our project with people from the GSA (General Services Administration). They gave us many great ideas on practical ways to use our product, such as on a keychain while shopping.
We brought our project prototype to the USA Science and Engineering Fair, a national science fair, and we showed it to people there. One person from the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) was very interested in our project and told us that the EPA often helped students with projects like ours.
After States, we met with Girl Scouts troop #1162 to talk about FLL, our project, and the robot board. We first had them do an exercise so we could get to know them. We instructed them to get in order from birthdays starting in January all the way to December, and gave them 3 minutes to accomplish this task! They finished in a record time of 1:32! #GIRLPOWER!!
We then explained the basics of FLL, and we showed them a sample instant challenge, and had them divide into two groups. They were given marshmallows, popsicle sticks, and a couple of rubber bands, and were told to construct a tower that could hold up a book! We then explained the robot board to them, and they again, split up into groups. Heather and Aiesha explained how to program, and Aviva and Yiyi explained how the board works, how to run it, align it, etc. We then had them write down their favorite part, and many said programming! The Girl Scouts did extremely well, and they might just be the next big FLL team(s)!
FLL CORE VALUES
- We are a team.
- We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
- We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
- We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
- What we discover is more important than what we win.
- We share our experiences with others.
- We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition® in everything we do.
- We have FUN!
Cookies!
We bake cookies to share with teams at our qualifiers and at the state tournament!