ZURI Bin is a climate solution project developed for the Hack4Climate program. It's a collaborative effort by a team of seven passionate individuals dedicated to addressing the critical issue of poor waste disposal in urban environments. In the bustling urban centers, the consequences of irresponsible waste disposal are alarming, as pollutants infiltrate the air, contaminate water sources, and poison the soil. This has devastating effects on wildlife, habitats, and the delicate balance of nature, casting a dark shadow over the urban landscape.
The intertwined relationship between urban waste and environmental degradation underscores the urgent need for comprehensive waste management strategies. ZURI Bin aims to confront this challenge head-on and promote sustainable practices to safeguard our precious environment from the onslaught of urban refuse.
ZURI Bin is a next-generation smart bin with the following features:
- Automatic reporting to authorities when it's full.
- Self-opening when a user approaches to dump trash and self-closing when they leave.
- Real-time monitoring of trash levels and proactive actions to prevent overflow.
- Reporting to authorities when it reaches 80% capacity to ensure timely emptying.
- Integration with an app, USSD, and website for reporting trash issues.
- The ability to report improperly dumped trash, aiding in reducing pollution and global warming.
- Data collection and visualization in neat charts and tables using data science tools.
- Deployment on Microsoft Azure.
- Use of MQTT API for hardware-software communication.
- API integration for transmitting data from the website to the database.
- API testing using Postman.
- Collaborative development using GitHub.
Our primary target market is recycling companies, to whom we plan to sell subscription-based access to our data. The more subscriptions they have, the better they can locate their raw materials. This data is a valuable resource, as it helps transform what was once considered trash into something useful, contributing to the "rebirth of trash."
For the technical implementation, we are using various sensors and actuators, including ultrasonic sensors and servo motors in the physical bin. The Raspberry Pi serves as the central processing unit behind the operation. We have also developed applications for both Android and iOS devices, alongside USSD and a website.
With proper waste disposal strategies, we can mitigate over 50% of climate change, as more than 60% of climate change is caused by poor waste disposal practices. ZURI Bin not only ensures efficient waste disposal but also allows for the reporting of unseen waste by the authorities and concerned citizens.
Join us in our mission to make a positive impact on the environment with ZURI Bin. Together, we can create a sustainable future.
Watch our project presentation to see how ZURI Bin works in action:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16490USkru6zkMY3lhZQF0KY_KKk4MxjS/view?usp=drive_web