Project 4: What goes where? A Garbage Classification system based on Images and Natural Language

Every year tons of garbage are inappropriately disposed of in the wrong trash bin causing a huge environmental footprint. Sorting the garbage properly across recyclable, compost and landfill trash bins is of uttermost importance to reduce this footprint. This project focuses on using image recognition and natural language processing for real-time classification of different types of garbage, so they can be correctly sorted for recycling, composting or landfill. The goal is to build a system in which the user can show an object to a camera or take a picture and optionally input some keywords that describe the object into a terminal or through voice recognition. Then, the system will tell the user in which bin the garbage should be disposed of, or if the user should take the garbage to a waste drop-off location. The system can also tell the user that the garbage can be taken to a recycling center for a refund. This is very common in the city of Calgary with the so-called “Bottle Depots”, where the user can recycle empty plastic/glass bottles, beer cans and drink packings, among other similar items. This system will help increase the percentage of garbage that’s recycled since throwing away recyclable garbage into a bin designed for non-recyclable items will cause it to end up in a landfill or a compost centre.