The day is approaching where garbage cans will be smarter than us.
Ten new sorters — which use solar power to compact trash and automatically sends an email to staff when they’re full — were recently placed along the waterfront in a pilot project.
“We want to change waste separation behaviours in public spaces — the most challenging places of all,” said Colin MacLean, president and CEO of the Waterfront Development Corporation, at the launch on Thursday afternoon.
They cost $60,000 but MacLean said they’ll pay for themselves because they cut down on the number of times the trash needs to be picked up by 80 per cent.
“We will be studying and analyzing the results,” he said.
“So we can learn to do this better … and we hope to provide a national and international example.”
The bins are clearly marked with diagrams and separated into compartments for trash, compost and recycling. The design makes sure there is less cross-contamination and makes it more difficult for scavengers.
“It provides a remarkable benefit for us who operate waterfronts in Bedford, Dartmouth, Lunenburg and Halifax because it reduces the time and increases the efficiency,” MacLean said.
In three weeks, Joseph Hall and his team at StewardEdge Inc. will go through all the garbage and recycling to analyze how much is being recycled through these new receptacles.
He said he’s already seen positive results in the few weeks the receptacles have been working on the Halifax waterfront.
