Trash-sorting robots inspire residents, promote garbage classification

Imagine a robot helper that can pick up all the waste and sort it when you don't want to bother?

That may become a reality in the future.

On Thursday, several trash-sorting robots made their debut in Jing'an District during the city's volunteer service promotion day for garbage classification, triggering the interest of many residents.

Waste collection service robots move swiftly but stop automatically and wait as people dispose of garbage. Videos promoting trash classification are also screened on the robots.

The Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau is promoting a mini-program that is connected to the main enterprises engaged in recyclable waste collection in Shanghai. Citizens can use the mini-program to make appointments for the collection and delivery of recyclable waste.

However, sometimes multiple households in a community make appointments for the same day, and some recyclable waste is quite heavy, making manual collection a bit strenuous. At those times, a recycling service robot could help.

"As long as the corresponding module is installed at the elevator, when the robot arrives at the elevator entrance, the elevator can sense and open the door," Niu Guangcheng, designer of the robot, explained.

"The robot can then reach the resident's door based on the preset address, call the resident to open the door, and then the resident will hand the recyclable waste over to the robot, which will weigh it and credit the return to the resident's account," Niu said.

The development of the robot took more than a year, and it can currently carry a maximum of 100 kilograms at a time.

However, the use of the robot has some restrictions. It can avoid obstacles, automatically brake, and turn around, but it cannot climb stairs and can only go up ramps or take elevators.

"We are developing robots that can climb stairs, charge with solar energy, and supervise residents from littering small bags of garbage," Niu said.

The robots are being trialled and will probably go into operation when the conditions are ripe, officials said.

A refined trash sorting campaign was launched in Jing'an at the same time, which will roll out into office buildings and business circles across the district. Based on the plan, different sorting modes will be designed for different places, such as bins with three disposal outlets for plastic, paper cups, and unfinished liquid at offices. The refined approach will be further promoted at parks, schools and industrial parks across the district, officials said.