A unique roadside pickup program in Michigan suggests that robots will continue to remove barriers that prevent people from taking eco-friendly action.
As Michigan Public detailed, innovation and impact accelerator Orange Sparkle Ball has received a grant from NextCycle Michigan to roll out its autonomous Penny Pickup service to remove trash and other unwanted materials from its pickup locations.
The initiative is focused on reducing food waste. It aligns with a goal from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to cut food waste in half by 2030 compared to a 2005 baseline, according to the report.
Robots are an increasingly popular option to manage or address a range of environmental and climate-related challenges, reducing the use of toxic pesticides in agriculture, aiding with invasive species removal, and detecting and separating recyclable materials in trash streams.
As for Penny Pickup, it looks to slash a food waste stream that accounts for nearly 60% of methane pollution from landfills, per the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the Department of Agriculture, up to 40% of food in the country ends up in the trash.
"Sometimes it's really hard to choose doing the responsible thing versus doing the convenient thing," Orange Sparkle Ball innovation strategist Hannah Ranieri told Michigan Public. "We're trying to amplify the convenience element of the solution and make it easier for people to dispose of their waste in the best possible way."
Thanks to grant funding from EGLE, Penny Pickup recently completed its first restaurant pickup at San Morello in downtown Detroit. Afterward, the house-shaped robot transported the waste to the Urban Tech Exchange building to be transformed into reusable coasters for the restaurant.
"Things have been going really well," Ranieri said. "We're really excited, and we plan to do two additional pilots with two additional restaurants."
Even if Penny Pickup isn't yet available in your area, you can do your part to reduce food waste and stretch your budget by getting creative with leftovers and properly storing your food.
Orange Sparkle Ball says on its website that it also has pilot programs in the works to remove electronic waste and plastic bags, and it is in discussions to continue developing its Penny Pickup technology for larger-use volume cases.
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"We can have a tremendous impact not only for Detroit but for other communities where we live and work," Jim Saber, CEO of NextEnergy — one of the organizations supporting the Penny Pickup food waste program — told WXYZ in Detroit.
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