NewVidHTCTW - Made with Clipchamp.mp4
The city of Montreal is an island city situated in the south of Quebec [1]. With little space available for landfills, the city hopes to improve its food waste diversion level, turning that waste into bio-fuel and fertilizer at its biomethanation and composting plants respectively [2]. Concordia University, a large academic institution situated in Downtown Montreal, will serve as the location for a pilot study on the effectiveness of the proposed solution in reducing the amount of food waste being sent to landfills. The solution will focus on reducing the quantity of food waste Concordia’s residents are sending to landfills, and be achieved with a budget of $500000 [3]. The solution must allow the university to determine the total amount of waste generated in residences by type and must have a program in place to encourage students to dispose of their waste appropriately.
The proposed solution is to implement pressure sensing, easily operable waste bins on every level of Concordia residences. The bins will be capable of reading the quantity of waste generated and will upload total waste by type to a data base at the end of each day, indicating which floor the waste came from, and how much of each type was generated. The bins will be pedal operated to be more appealing and hygienic, and will feature a complete sealing mechanism to help eliminate odour.
The information collected in the database will be displayed near bins and hot spots within residences to keep students aware of the amount of waste they are generating, encouraging them to improve their habits. The information will also be posted on social media through the residence social channels. The displays have charts comparing waste quantities across floors, inspiring students on each floor to compete to be the lowest in waste generation.
MiniBins discussed in “future considerations” section. We believe they would be a valuable future implementation, however their cost pushes our budget over the limit
The proposed design for the bin will be a polyethylene exterior, with a separate removable aluminum inner bin where the waste actually collects. Both of these materials were chosen for their corrosion resistance. The frame is made of HDPE because it is more than 4x cheaper than aluminum, and also easily moldable which is ideal for the more complex exterior design [4][5][6]. The bin will be made of aluminum because it is more rigid and durable than HDPE, while still relatively lightweight when compared to stainless steel [7]. Also, aluminum has a greater resistance to retaining bad smells caused by food waste, making it ideal for the container in which the food will be in close contact [6].
The mechanical components of the bins (gears, pedal, driving wheels, hinged material and surface track) should be constructed with a 3D printer using HDPE plastic, or ABS if HDPE is not available. These materials both exhibit high stiffness and chemical resistance and are similarly priced [8]. By 3D printing these parts the university will be able to customize them to fit the final specifications of the bins and easily print spares when needed. Additionally, wear on part surfaces will be minimal as all parts will have the same mechanical properties.
To ensure the bin fully opens, the gear ratio between the large and small gears can be altered to achieve greater angular displacements along the belt and therefore larger displacements of the hinged door between its open and closed states.
An analysis of the forces within the mechanical assembly should be conducted to determine proper sizing on the foot pedal springs.
To generate the final bin design specifications, engineering students and professors could work together to perform the appropriate engineering analyses to achieve an optimal function.
Different coloured plastic should be used for each bin to represent the type of waste it collects (black for garbage, green for organic, blue for plastic, grey for paper). Resources should also be included to help students know how to dispose of their waste, with images included on the bins, such as in the example below.
Color coded rubbish bins - Alamy