School children are testing a prototype smart bin as part of efforts by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO to inspire future participants in the circular economy.

During this month’s National Science Week in Australia, students from year six at Marrickville Public School joined CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall and researchers from CSIRO and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to test the prototype smart bin and interact with construction materials made from recycled glass and polystyrene.

The bin uses IoT, sensing, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and infra-red spectroscopy technologies to sort plastic, metal and glass automatically, as well as sorting specific types of plastic. The bin is a proof of concept designed to improve recycling rates and reduce contamination in waste streams, with New South Wales only recycling ten per cent of its 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste.

It also supports turning waste into a resource. Victorian small business Casafico creates commercial construction materials from recycled glass, newspaper and polystyrene, much of which is sourced through online waste exchange marketplace Aspire, which spun out of CSIRO in 2013.

Marshall said innovation and collaboration were essential to developing Australia’s circular economy and were at the heart of CSIRO’s collaborative Ending Plastic Waste Mission, which has a goal of an eighty per cent reduction in plastic waste entering the Australian environment by 2030.

“Solutions from science that will grow our circular economy take collaboration at every stage of the innovation process, from understanding plastics at a molecular level to reinvent the way plastic is used, made and recycled, through to commercialising new technologies like this smart bin, which is now in discussions to go to market, and spinning out new companies like Aspire to grow new circular economy jobs,” Marshall said. “Science can transform our economy into a circular one that renews and reuses what we previously discarded, creates higher paid jobs, advances new Australian technology, and protects our environment, while inspiring the next generation with what’s possible, during National Science Week and throughout the year.”

CSIRO principal research scientist Wei Ni said: “Smart bin technology could be used at venues like shopping centres, schools, cinemas, coffee shops and airports. It will improve recycling rates because it is so easy to use and could ensure that materials can be recovered for reuse.”

And UTS researcher Ren Ping Liu said: “Working with CSIRO, we have developed the latest IoT and AI technologies to build this amazing smart bin. It can simplify the recycling process and improve efficiency for waste classification and sorting. The smart bin will help to promote the circular economy and contribute to a carbon neutral future.”

Casafico head of communications Samantha Mucci said this brought benefits when operating in the circular economy.

“Sourcing waste materials through Aspire helps us to become carbon positive, to save scarce natural resources and divert waste away from landfill,” she said. “We can’t underestimate how small changes can make a huge difference. It’s great to see the next generation are learning that.”

CSIRO has developed curriculum-aligned lesson plans with suggested class activities around the glass, plastic and the circular economy theme made available to support teachers nationwide. This continues CSIRO’s 40-year track record of actively supporting stem learning for students and teachers with education programmes.

CSIRO’s 2021 Circular Economy Roadmap found innovation could triple job creation from resource recovery by designing products, materials and advanced manufacturing, and in embracing business models that could create domestic and export markets for waste streams. Increasing Australia’s recovery rate by just five per cent would add an estimated $1bn to GDP.