The Future of Trash: The Smart Garbage Can

I lift open the lid, tossing my banana peel in the garbage can. Pinching my nose as the lid falls back down, I sprint over to my mom’s room and attempt to spray her perfume around the can. Instead of resolving the problem, a wretched smell immediately fills my nose, a disgusting combination of floral fragrance and stinky trash. These were times when I wished for a better solution, a way to make discarding trash simpler; if only I had a smart trash can back then.

From the corner of my eye, I notice the bright words on the front of my trash can. The vibrant, bold words attract my attention to my garbage can. “Overflow!” it reads. Then, I empty the garbage bag inside and throw it away. While standard trash cans either open automatically or by stepping on a pedal, they still do not sort garbage or control odors. Even if garbage is discarded carelessly, ordinary trash cans have no way of fixing the situation. I don’t have any ordinary trash can; I have a new trash can powered by AI, featuring many innovative abilities, including sensor detection, odor control, and sorting abilities. The trash can uses sensors on the lid to open automatically when it detects a hand hovering above it at a distance of up to 7 cm. This ability makes throwing things out more sanitary, reducing the number of times I have to touch the trash can. An alternative verbal solution is to say, “Smart Open”. This revolutionary garbage can contains odor control by spraying scented mist from the inner sides. I can also replace the scented mist with perfume. Normally, I like to create my own unique scent. This ability makes the surrounding air fresh and fragrant. The garbage can also uses A.I. and cameras to distinguish through different categories of trash, sorting them into different compartments for easy disposal, such as compost, recycling, and general trash. This is done through computer vision scanning along with cameras to sort the garbage. Additionally, the trash can transforms everyday compost by converting it into dirt for my garden. The accompanying app also organizes pickup day schedules and provides fun facts and videos on waste management to inform the public on better choices, making the smart trash can the ultimate choice for a disposal tool.

At first, I never thought that such an innovative device would affect my privacy. The smart trash can uses personal information, such as location and access to disposed trash, to ensure effectiveness. The garbage can has a connected app, which is helpful if I want to learn more about waste management and important notifications. To create an account on the app, I need to complete a survey about my gender and what city or area I live in; my location will be significant in picking up day schedules and reminders. Another negative aspect would be if the trash can analyzes discarded receipts while filtering trash, possibly processing information on the receipt, such as purchase history, address, and banking information without consent. Despite this, there are several ways to ensure these problems won’t occur.

While these concerns worry me, there are potential ways to control how my personal information is used. Some effective solutions are that the system could be programmed to ignore details like barcodes or numbers and blur them out if needed when scanning. The system could be coded to blur out anything on a piece of trash if it is seen to have barcodes, words, letters, and numbers, and only scanning and categorizing based on specific characteristics. The trash can is also designed with a built-in shredder for paper or personal items like receipts, destroying sensitive data as well as saving space. The shredder would be a partial portion on top of the recycling compartment and the general waste compartment. The shredder would ensure that no information would ever be found from the user, keeping them safe from scams, attacks, or hackers. The app keeps location data safe by using encryption and several verification steps so that I can see the information only to learn more about waste management. Therefore, while there are some concerns about using AI, many solutions help make it safer and more useful.

I plug in a new scent for my trash can, lemonade with a hint of strawberry. As the sweet aroma fills my nose, I can’t help but remember the day when I would spray perfume to mask the horrid smell. This modern trash can has made me appreciate how even the simplest objects can be transformed to make everyday life smarter and more efficient.