by Russell Nichols, Comstock’s Magazine
By the end of the 20th century, the Three Rs were everywhere: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But waste management is more complicated than a catchy slogan, according to Sambhav Agarwal, a third-year computer science student at UC Davis.
There are nuances to sorting trash that most people were never taught, he says. For example, in many U.S. cities, paper coffee cups go to landfill because they’re lined with plastic. But some lids labeled “compostable” can go into compost. And Nutella jars are technically recyclable, but they can’t be recycled if they’re coated with food. Non-recyclable products in the recycling stream cost U.S. material recovery facilities at least $300 million per year in additional labor, according to UC Berkeley’s California Management Review.
Sortify is a tech business emerging out of UC Davis, co-founded by Agarwal and fellow students Yash Nadge and Yahya Habibi. The idea is simple: attach a small camera to disposal bins that alert individuals where a piece of trash is supposed to go. Powered by AI, these cameras will either use voice, a screen or lights to signal proper disposal.
The idea for the business came in a UC Davis class called Innovation for Impact: Climate Entrepreneurship, led by Nathan Sedlander, a university alum and climate entrepreneur. He divides the class into teams of five, each tasked with addressing a major environmental challenge and interviewing customers and stakeholders to develop a business model.
In winter 2025, Agarwal and his co-founders were assigned the challenge of valorizing waste. After speaking with some 100 researchers and stakeholders in waste management and recycling, the team learned how costly it was for waste management to sort misplaced products.
Around the country, many waste management facilities rely on large, capital-intensive systems that aren’t so easy to upgrade. Introducing new technology can require major investment and customization, Sedlander says, especially for facilities that have been operating for decades. Smart bins can help, but they’re expensive, and most industrial and institutional settings (schools, office buildings, hospitals, for example) would need to spend a lot to adopt them.
The Sortify team saw an opportunity earlier in the waste chain, a device that attaches to existing bins rather than replacing them. The idea earned the team a top-10 finalist spot in the Big Bang! Business Competition.
The co-founders are now working to make the device more durable while addressing potential privacy issues. Privacy is a priority, especially in school settings. One option under consideration is a downward-facing camera that allows users to hold items beneath it and receive sorting guidance without being identified.
As the system collects more data, it will learn to assess waste more accurately. Manufacturing the cameras at scale requires a lot of resources, Agarwal says, so Sortify is open to exploring funding opportunities with investors. The team also has a working prototype with plans to collaborate with an elementary school in Davis.
“Our goal is to teach the younger audiences and different customer segments how to throw away trash properly,” Agarwal says. “Schools and commercial spaces can adopt this solution for a cheap price, implement it on their trash can, and we can collect data on what type of trash is being thrown away and assist the customer to throw away the trash correctly.”