App

Know Where To Throw!

Problem: Where Do I Put My Trash

Have you ever stood in front of a recycling bin wondering whether you could throw in your to-go coffee cup? Or, the wrapper of the breakfast bar you just ate? Let’s face it, it isn’t easy to remember where they go. The U-M Office of Sustainability seeks to reduce the waste that goes to landfill by 40% in 2025. With a new mobile app, ContaMiNot (Final Destination*), we aim to make it easier for the community to contribute to these efforts. Users will be able to look up where a specific item belongs (compost, recycling, landfill). Potentially, the app could provide users with an ability to log disposed items, and practice environmentally-conscious choices by competing with others. Quizzes and interesting facts about personal climate impact are other options. We believe that Final Destination will make an important contribution to waste reduction efforts at U-M by developing a more environmentally informed community.


* The Final Destination project got renamed to ContaMiNot

Solution: Use The ContaMiNot App

The ContaMiNot app allows the user to quickly and easily identify the appropriate bin for waste disposal. You can see the app in action in both our 3-Minute & 10-Minute presentations!

“It’s not just tech with cool features, object recognition, and machine learning, it's technologists thinking about social change as well. These are issues we need to think about as part of Michigan IT.”

--Andrew Rosenberg MD

The ContaMiNot Team

The ContaMiNot Team is a diverse group of people from across the University of Michigan that are dedicated to working with University stakeholders to reduce the waste that goes into landfills by 40% in 2025.

Current Sponsors

We are currently working with different groups at the University of Michigan to bring this tool to the U-M community.

If you would like to see this project grow please reach out to us!

Office for Campus Sustainability (OCS)
Student Life/Michigan Dining

How It Works & Our Goals

ContaMiNot performs object recognition via machine learning using the Core ML Framework to assist the user in identifying where the various pieces of their waste need to go. Now that we have a proof of concept our goals are to:

  • Prevent Contamination
  • Educate About Waste Disposal
  • Motivate People To Participate in Waste Disposal
  • Reduce U-M landfill waste by 40% until 2025
  • Give people information to lobby for what they need
  • Keep our land and oceans cleaner
  • Help us combat climate change

Next Steps

Moving to a Maximum Viable Product & How Our App Can Scale

Database

U-M Community

  • Make available to U-M
  • Integrate with U-M app
  • Enable competitions
  • Run awareness campaigns

Scale App

  • Build out gamification
  • Add an `I re-used’ option
  • Make available in App store
  • Build Android version
  • Release as open source project
  • Expand accessibility options:
    • Bin identification using image recognition
    • Optimize to work with existing smart device accessibility capabilities (iOS and Android)