63470 external_news 1294931286 1475893455 “The whole information system falls off when things are disposed,” says Valerie Thomas, Associate Professor of Public Policy (joint appointment with Industrial and Systems Engineering). Thomas is developing a prototype technology called Smart Trash, which aims to better manage all forms of waste that carry product ID tags. The current system of curbside recycling hasn’t kept pace with today’s stream of high-tech garbage, which increasingly includes hardware that could be salvaged (like cellphone parts) and products that contain toxic materials that could be more safely disposed of (like some fluorescent light bulbs). Source: The Erie Wire – January 4, 2011

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