12 Hours

It only takes 12 hours. 12 hours to think of an idea. 12 hours to change the world and start helping our environment.

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Inspiration

An·thro·po·cene: relating to or denoting the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Every year Toronto residents accumulate 491,747 tonnes of waste that end up in Landfills. A solution to this waste is an activity that we've learned since elementary school. Recycling. But with over 26% of Toronto's recycling being contaminated and having to be thrown away. According to Jim McKay, the General Waste Manager of the City of Toronto stated that the city of Toronto alone could save $600,000 to $1 million for each percentage point decrease in contamination. 12 Hours wanted to help everyday waste conscious citizens by helping them identify where their garbage should end up.

What it does

This project helps consumers reduce their mistakes in everyday recycling that causes these recycling contaminations that lead to large avoidable losses to taxpayers. When unsure where a waste item belongs, consumers can bring up our WebApp and quickly take a picture. Our unique solution properly identifies where or how the trash should be disposed. Using Microsofts Azure Computer Vision API to identify waste products from Toronto's Waste Database and classify whether they should be recycled or not.

How we built it

Using Javascript for front-end and using Python's Flask framework for back-end, while incorporating Microsoft Azures Computer Vision API and Waste Wizards Database.

Challenges we ran into

Android Apps are a lot more complex then we thought they would be.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Incoporating Machine Learning APIs; coming in to the project we were unsure whether or not to use something as scary as Machine Learning. But with the workshops provided over the weekend and the help of the mentors throughout the weekend, we were able to implement concepts while having fun.

What we learned

Chip bags aren't actually recyclables... Learned a lot more about Web-Devlopment and a bit of Android Development. Procrastination is a real thing, but last minute stress work is as well.

What's next for 12 Hours

Translating the Mobile web-app into a full functioning iOS and Android App.

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