In September 2022, artificial intelligence lent a hand to East Lansing's recycling initiatives by gathering data on discarded items. The program reported a 25% reduction in contamination for the city's recycling stream.
The pilot program partnered with Prairie Robotics and Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to outfit recycling trucks with AI-powered computers and cameras across the city of East Lansing.
For 24 weeks, the monitors would check curbside bins to identify recycling contaminants like plastic bags or trash. Once contaminants were identified, the program would mail a postcard to the owner of the bin with information on what unrecyclable items were found inside and a list of acceptable materials.
According to program managers, 5,000 postcards were mailed out to residents across the city during the pilot and the number of improperly discarded materials decreased.
“For households that received a postcard, compared to the control group, they had 23% less contamination than they had before, or compared to the neighbors that didn’t receive a postcard,” said Cliff Walls, East Lansing’s Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency Manager.
The households that received postcards also ended up setting their carts out more often than they had been before receiving the notifications, Walls noted.
The most common contaminants found inside city recycling bins were observed to be bagged materials, Styrofoam and plastic film.
Walls said East Lansing's “Feet on the Street” approach improves the quality of recycling by providing residents personalized feedback based on their actual recycling habits.
The city has traditionally analyzed its recycling contents manually, allowing an inspector to review curbside bins. The inspector tags bins with an educational sticker if contaminating materials were found. The individual inspections are then repeated over the course of weeks or months to identify behavior changes.
Walls said the artificial intelligence pilot program helped free up some of his staff’s time that had previously been spent doing manual inspections.
The trial also addressed the unique dynamics of Michigan State University's campus.
“In a more transient community like ours, with a lot of people coming to MSU, they’re coming from other places where the rules are different than the rules here, so it allowed us to target our education efforts where its most needed,” Walls said.
The city is currently exploring options to implement the use of AI-powered technology on recycling trucks permanently.
