A close friend broke their extension cord, and did not know how to properly dispose of electronics. This sparked a manhunt through blogs and youtube videos on how to get rid of this item. We thought, why isn’t there one place where you could find how to dispose, reuse and choose more sustainably? Here EcoBin was born.
EcoBin is a database search engine for household items. Simply type in the name of your item into the search box and hit “enter”, then you will receive multiple different ideas to sustainably dispose of your item. With over 50 items, EcoBin is the fast and easy way to think sustainably.
##How we built it We built it using Java, JavaFx, and CSS. We live-shared source code and split the backend, frontend, and database amongst our group. Eventually assembling the parts and making EcoBin come to life.
EcoBin’s backend is completely coded in Java. We knew that we wanted something pleasing to the eye for our users, so we struggled to determine how we were going to do the front end. We couldn’t get JavaFX to work, so we tried so many other applications desperately trying to find something. In the end, we did end up making JavaFX work resulting in the UI for EcoBin.
Our team experienced a lot of firsts during this Hackathon, considering that this was all of our first Hackathon. Alex compiled her first ever database and imported text files in Java, while having no Java experience. Brendan created his first ever HashMap, which is integral to our program. Marcellus learned JavaFX and used it, in combination with their background CSS knowledge, to create the frontend. It was a journey of learning and triumph for all of us, and we are all very proud of EcoBin.
We learned so much about coding and teamwork during this year’s Hackathon. Specifically, we are grateful for the workshops offered during this time. We learned about GRASS, utilizing UI terminals, and version control systems.
EcoBin’s next steps are expanding the database to include even more items, as well as allowing users to input their own items. Conversations about possible AI Training to allow the user to take a picture of what they want to look up, instead of typing it in. We are also looking at a possible map of places near you where you can sustainably dispose of your items.