A new AI technology that can help students sort trash in seconds is coming to the University of Guelph.
Oscar Sort, the AI-powered recycling assistant developed by Canadian tech company Intuitive AI, will be deployed in the University Centre in mid-February.
How does it work? Simply show your item to Oscar, and it will instantly guide you to the correct bin making recycling effortless and engaging. Consuming no more energy than a standard laptop, Oscar helps universities improve recycling and composting while providing valuable waste insights to support sustainability teams in reducing waste at the source.
Harry Bakker, associate vice-president (physical resources), welcomes this new innovation as part of U of G's ongoing commitment to campus sustainability.
"At physical resources, we look for innovative ways to continually improve service," says Bakker. "The implementation of Oscar Sort represents a significant step forward in our commitment to waste reduction."
Oscar Sort is located in the University Centre
Beyond removing confusion about what goes where, Oscar adapts to evolving municipal guidelines, updating in near real-time to reflect changes in local recycling regulations and packaging. Powered by machine learning and computer vision, Oscar continuously learns and improves, making waste sorting smarter and more efficient.
By tackling waste diversion at the source, Oscar has already improved recycling rates and reduced operational costs at over 30 leading North American institutions, including the University of Toronto, MIT and ASU.
"Young people are the future drivers of sustainable change, and education is key to making recycling, composting and reusing second nature," says Hassan Murad, CEO and co-founder of Intuitive AI. "Oscar is just the beginning a bintersection' for sparking meaningful conversations about sustainability. We're excited to see how its trivia feature gets young people thinking about climate change and inspires them to make a real impact."
Importantly, Oscar Sort is designed with privacy in mind. It only identifies waste items and does not collect any personal information, adhering to global security and privacy standards, including PIPEDA, CCPA and GDPR.
"This advanced AI technology empowers our University's community to make sustainably informed decisions diverting recycling from waste," Bakker says, "thereby contributing towards a greener future."
