Automated Waste Sorting System
Project Workflow: Automated Waste Sorting System
5. Guiding Questions
To tackle our chosen challenge, we broke it down with these specific questions. Each question guides a phase of our project.
6. Activities, Resources, and Findings
This section documents our research and development process as we answer our guiding questions.
Answering GQ1: Material Identification
Activities:
- Literature review of reports from the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) of Sri Lanka.
- Contacting local waste collection centers (e.g., Kaduwela, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia) to get anecdotal data.
- Physically examining household waste to categorize common items.
Resources: CEA publications, YouTube documentaries on Sri Lankan waste, academic papers on waste characterization.
Findings: The primary components are PET bottles (water, soda), HDPE (shampoo bottles), mixed paper, glass bottles, and aluminum cans. Contamination with food waste is a major issue. We must focus on these categories first.
Answering GQ2: Technology Research
Activities:
- Researching industrial sorting technologies like NIR (Near-Infrared), X-ray, and Eddy Current separators.
- Analyzing DIY and open-source projects on platforms like Instructables, Hackaday, and GitHub.
Resources: Tomra Sorting Solutions website, research papers on sensor-based sorting, YouTube videos of sorting plants.
Findings: Industrial solutions are too expensive. A combination of computer vision (using a Raspberry Pi and camera) for identifying shape/color and inductive sensors for metal detection seems most feasible for a prototype.