TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Aquarium is using artificial intelligence to teach good recycling habits.
What You Need To Know
The Florida Aquarium says it is the first aquarium in the nation to use the AI Oscar Sort for recycling purposes
According to the aquarium, Oscar Sort has a disposal accuracy of about 85%. Regular trash and recycling cans have a disposal accuracy of below 50%
Experts hope the one-on-one interaction will increase recycling and reduce waste
Through an agreement with Pepsi to support The Florida Aquarium’s business sustainability efforts, they provide $10,000 each year to support the machines
Oscar Sort is an AI-generated trash and recycling bin that’s aimed to show people what’s recyclable and what’s not. By checking Oscar’s screen, people can put their trash and recycling in the correct bins.
The Florida Aquarium says it is the first aquarium in the nation to use Oscar Sort. Experts hope the one-on-one interaction will increase recycling and reduce waste. In the past, experts say people have not known what to throw away.
“There’s so much confusion that people will have their wish cycle,” said The Florida Aquarium Senior Vice President of Conservation Debborah Luke. “They wish they could recycle their napkins. They wish they could recycle this plastic thing and they put it in the recycling bin. But once it’s there, that whole bin is contaminated and we can’t recycle it. So it’s better for us to learn what to recycle the right way, even though it makes us sad that we can’t recycle some of the things we thought we could and just be able to recycle the rest of it.”
According to the aquarium, Oscar Sort has a disposal accuracy of about 85%. Regular trash and recycling cans have a disposal accuracy of below 50%.
There are four Oscar Sorts through The Florida Aquarium. Through an agreement with Pepsi, the Florida Aquarium receives $10,000 a year to support the machines.