The University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a robotics startup named rStream, recently launched AuditPRO—an AI-powered recycling pilot program. It was co-founded by UMass students Ian Goodine and Ethan Walko and incubated at Greentown Labs in Somerville. This state-of-the-art initiative addresses recycling inefficiencies by using AI to enhance accuracy and quality in waste sorting, as mentioned in a UMass Amherst press release published on October 2nd, 2023.
Goodine and Walko first envisioned the project during their 2020 mechanical engineering senior design project, to later co-found rStream during their master's studies. With financial support from multiple sources, including a $275,000 NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant and a $125,000 commitment from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center's AmplifyMass program, the AuditPRO system was successfully developed. The two entrepreneurs collaborated with UMass Dining Services to introduce the system in the university's dining halls during the Fall semester of 2023.
A leading issue in recycling, as noted in the UMass Amherst press release, is consumers’ poor decision-making when discarding waste. This results in capture rates—diversion of recyclables from the waste stream—of only 30%. Approximately one-third of single-stream recycling collected experiences contamination, which depreciates the recyclable items’ quality. AuditPRO uses computer vision and robotics to refine waste sorting, ensuring nearly all recyclables are utilized by waste haulers for new products.
Currently, UMass Amherst’s Lincoln Campus Center concourse houses the AuditPRO system. The AI technology recognizes waste items in real-time and shares these data with the university's sustainability team. This provides useful information for waste reduction efforts and optimizing the recycling experience. Kathy Wicks, sustainability director of Auxiliary Enterprises at UMass Amherst, stated that AuditPRO obviates the need for cumbersome waste audits by providing dynamic, valuable insights that guide the university's waste management and green undertaking plans.
Overall, AI recycling's potential to address present waste management industry hurdles is to be distinctly observed. While Goodine and Walko aim to more advance their robotic waste sorting technology, AuditPRO’s practical use as it stands is a major leap towards fulfilling these ambitions.
As the UMass Amherst's pilot program continues, the university's sustainability team looks forward to a better understanding of the campus's waste outputs. They hope to enhance and incorporate more sustainable procurement practices.
