EcoSnap is an app that takes advantage of the camera of your phone to help you determine everything you need to know about recycling your plastic items or if they are recyclable at all. All you need to do is snap a picture of the item’s plastic resin code. From there, the app’s AI takes over and tells you how best to recycle it. In addition, you can also keep track of how much plastic you recycled, look up specific advice for different types of plastic, and more.
According to EcoSnap‘s creator, Alyssa X, the app was built during a week-long hackathon. Not only did it win third place overall, but it was also voted first in the Best Open Source category.
https://twitter.com/alyssaxuu/status/1613207733343342594
Is it really that simple?
While EcoSnap is a great idea that can help simplify the way people recycle their plastics, the answer to whether it’s simple to use really depends. On one hand, EcoSnap could be used anywhere and is easy to use since most people own a smartphone. On the other hand, its reach is somewhat limited because it is a new app. Right now, the app only offers specific advice for people who live in London in particular. If it’s someone who lives anywhere else in the UK, the advice becomes more general.
In addition, it doesn’t seem to recognize new-ish postcodes for places that have been built up to two years ago. In addition, some postcodes seem to send the AI in a loop for some unknown reason. Yet, these bugs can be chalked off as linked to the fact that EcoSnap is still very new. There is no doubt that those bugs will be corrected as time move on. Plus, Alyssa X announced on Product Hunt that she is hoping to expand the app’s reach to more regions in the future.
Photo credits: The feature image is symbolic and has been taken by Taras Nagirnyak.
Source: Alyssa X (ProductHunt)
