Trash Gets Wired

July 15, 2009

Back in 2007, my colleagues and I tried to figure out where the "recycling" in our building actually went. We hit a dead end with a Jersey-based trash collection service--cue the Sopranos theme song. Now a new trash project could show us what's actually going on.

The Trash Track project out of MIT's Senseable City Lab will be arranging to put thousands of wireless location markers on samples of city trash in New York and Seattle. Triangulation will allow the markers to update servers on their locations in real-time. Starting in September, the public will be able to see the paths in real-time online.

If all goes well, the researchers will succeed in making the removal chain more transparent, identifying bottlenecks in citywide recycling and sanitation. Plus, they'll be reconnecting us with the things we think we're throwing "away."

Trash Track plans to recruit volunteers who will let the researchers follow their refuse. Maybe I've been watching too many episodes of the Wire, but I know just the building in Manhattan to target for volunteers.

Image: Mockup of how the tracking system will look. Credit: E. Roon Kang/SENSEable City Lab.

Sustainable shoutout: From lost ladybugs to the Great Garbage Patch, get the latest on the science behind global warming at Discovery Earth Live.