Should Canada follow China’s Lead in Launching an AI-based Waste Management System
Artificial intelligence is creating opportunities in many different industries and in waste management, it’s no different. Although we like to think of North America being considerably more advanced than China on matters of waste management – and in many ways, we are – China’s outdoing us in its application of AI-powered waste management systems.
Across 33 Chinese cities, the government has rolled out more than 10,000 AI-powered waste sorting bins. If successful in application, this could have a significant impact on the cleanliness of China and the waste management standards associated with the East Asian nation. As evidenced in its decision to stop accepting untreated waste from nations like Canada and the United States, China’s on a kick to make itself a greener place. Things like garbage classification and recycling are either non-existent or way underutilized in parts of China. Technology has the opportunity to change that.
China’s AI initiative is being overseen by Xiaohuanggou which is a Chinese company centered on environmental protection. The AI-powered waste bins set up correspond to an app downloadable to any smartphone. In less than one year, the app’s gained 2.6 million users and is supported by the Chinese government as a waste management initiative moving forward. Recently, the government even issued a report stating an interest in building zero-waste cities, something which Canada doesn’t have. It is the hoped that integrating technology into garbage sorting will help resolve a lot of the environmental-based waste management issues China continues to struggle with.
The AI-powered waste bin works by automatically identifying waste using cameras as well as knowing the average density and size of items. The garbage bins also pay users when they recycle metals, plastics, and paper boxes. Users in Beijing, as an example, can receive an environmental protection refund according to the items they deposit in a smart waste sorting bin. The money’s instantly credited to her Xiaohuanggou account. After the amount reaches a certain amount, a user can cash out. This provides a financial incentive for users to recycle and unsurprisingly, it appears to be working in improving recycling rates. While these bins are accomplishing all this, they’re also accumulating data on what waste is being tossed, its location, and who is recycling.
Garbage collectors are notified any time a bin reaches 80 percent capacity. The waste then is collected, transferred for processing, and transferred again to be converted into renewable resources.
Xiaohuanggou is not the only company doing this, either. Alipay, a Chinese mobile payment company, has also introduce an online platform for garbage sorting in another 30,000 Chinese communities. China produces more than 10 billions tons of solid waste every year. It’s believed public awareness of environmental protection can work to help gain control of China’s waste management system.
Could the same work in Canada or in a city like Toronto – we like to think there’s a possibility although we suggest it’s unlikely. Toronto has its fair share of waste however it’s nothing like China’s. It would be hard to incentivize recycling in the same way and not to mention, Toronto already has public garbage bins set up in strategic locations which are used frequently by the population. As our social culture is different here in the GTA compared to China, the natural conclusion is AI-powered collection bins likely wouldn’t work.
