Greater Kelowna area residents may soon learn that putting something that is not recyclable into their recycling bin will be more difficult.
The Regional District of the Central Okanagan announced Monday that its curbside recycling program will soon test artificial intelligence technology to better detect when the wrong material lands in a recycling cart, and homeowners will learn about it in real-time.
The AI pilot program, a partnership between varying levels of local governments and Prairie Robotics, aims to reduce the region’s overall recycling contamination levels, which in the past have led to costly surcharges for local municipalities.
“The innovative technology installed on recycling trucks, uses a combination of truck-mounted cameras, AI-based visual recognition and GPS to identify and track unaccepted items,” the regional district said in a press release.
5:02 The New Reality explores the risks of AI
“The AI is trained to recognize problematic items, including plastic bags, garbage, yard waste and Styrofoam, all materials that do not belong in the recycling cart. By scanning the material collected, it finds items that are not supposed to be in the recycling cart and reports them for further action.”
If the system detects a contaminant, the regional district said a photo is taken from inside the truck’s hopper, and the materials that don’t belong are highlighted.
A postcard with the image will be sent to the household with information about what can or cannot go in the recycling cart. If the associated household also has the Recycle Coach app, they will also be notified on their mobile device. Everything except for the detected recycling contaminant will be blurred out in the image.
“Most of our residents put a lot of effort into sorting their recycling correctly,” Travis Kendel, acting director of Engineering Services with the RDCO said.
“With this pilot, we can help by providing curbside recyclers with customized and real-time feedback. This region-wide initiative is intended to improve the quality of recycling in our curbside recycling carts, help avoid financial penalties and direct our staff to areas where education is needed most.”
2:16 AI predicts consumer behaviour during holiday season for retailers
Residents can expect to start seeing postcards from the Regional District and Prairie Robotics in their mailboxes by late November.
For more information on the pilot program, visit rdco.com, and for info on what to recycle, download the Recycle Coach app, or visit rdco.com/recycle.
News Related
-
Today, Manitoba announced that it will temporarily reduce costs for farmers using Crown land for grazing, haying and yearly cropping. The measure will bring the reduction rate up to 55 per cent from 33 per cent for the 2024 growing season. Carson Callum, general manager with Manitoba Beef Producers, said ...
See Details:
Manitoba announces reduced rent on agricultural Crown land
-
Small businesses and climate activists are looking at what the province’s newly introduced “gas tax holiday” bill could mean for Manitobans. The bill was introduced Thursday by Finance Minister Adrien Sala, and offers to remove provincial tax from gasoline and diesel. That means 14 cents per litre will stay in ...
See Details:
Who benefits from Manitoba’s ‘gas tax holiday,’ and for how long?
-
Halifax Transit is making a push to tackle what they say has been a growing issue for their workers. During the city’s transportation standing committee meeting on Thursday, Philip Herritt, the director of transit operations for Halifax Transit, outlined a proposal to help address violent incidents happening on buses city-wide. ...
See Details:
Halifax Transit pushes to get safety officers aboard buses and ferries
-
If you’re a listener of QR Calgary on the the AM frequency, the broadcast you typically hear will be unavailable as we do some maintenance on our transmitter towers starting Friday Nov. 24 at 11 p.m. until Saturday Nov. 25 at 5 a.m. This means we’re off the air for ...
See Details:
QR Calgary 770AM will be temporarily off-air for maintenance work
-
-
The city of Saskatoon has approved recommendations allowing for more housing opportunities, hoping to access federal funds and ultimately change what housing looks like in the city. “This is a generational shift in what housing looks like. More people will have access to stable and affordable housing, with walkable services ...
See Details:
City of Saskatoon takes steps to address housing affordability
-
James Busch stands atop a hill, overlooking new trainees undertaking a firefighting course. Below, navy sailors have a tall task ahead of them: extinguishing a burning helicopter. The chopper is a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, but it’s not a real helicopter. The near-exact replica of the chopper, in use for the ...
See Details:
Canadian Military trains to extinguish burning helicopters
-
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Toronto pet owners face ‘excruciating decisions’ in cost-of-living crisis
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Black Friday weekend kicks off in Kingston
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
City of Regina to select new REAL board of directors during special council meeting
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Doug Ford says he will waive cabinet privilege in RCMP Greenbelt investigation
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Pedestrian struck and killed on Highway 3 in southern Alberta
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Ontario watchdog to review new information from Nova Scotia mass shooting inquiry
OTHER NEWS
Those travelling across the Halifax Harbour over the next two weekends can expect a lengthier commute, as the 53-year-old MacKay Bridge will be closed as it undergoes critical repairs. In ...
Read more »
The City of Toronto says it will begin to clear out an encampment in Kensington Market on Friday morning due to it being an “immediate public safety risk.” Russell Baker, ...
Read more »
Residents have been allowed to return home as stabilization works get underway on a rockslide in Penticton, B.C. A rockslide evacuated 25 homes in the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park ...
Read more »
As mundane urban city life churns on around them, a growing population of people are seeking shelter, trying to survive another night. Some are in tents tucked among the trees ...
Read more »
Whether it’s a big box store or online, the Black Friday weekend has been a concern for local businesses. Sarah Amies, executive director of the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone, ...
Read more »
A timber company working on the overdue and over-budget West Kelowna city hall project has filed a civil suit, claiming they’re owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. Seagate Mass Timber, ...
Read more »
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has blocked a motion to launch a provincial auditor investigation into the Ministry of Social Services policy on hotel stays. The motion made by NDP social ...
Read more »
