R3 Recycling Depo

Everywhere you go you will always find some sort of trash. But here is the shocking thing some of this "trash" is not so bad. Recycling has been a beacon of light for a more sustainable future but needs to expand to new heights to combat all our needs. That's why I have been inspired to design the R3 depo, a solution to our big problem! My name is Skanda Vasuki. I am a senior at Weddington High School in North Carolina. This model was designed on Autodesk Inventor 2020 and comprises of the main building and the Multiview drawing.

Today most folks living in suburban and metro areas have access to recycling programs. Later on in this build I saw how the R3 Depo can help residents in smaller towns or villages previously incapable of recycling to effectively recycle their waste economically. I also realized later on, while designing I saw how this could help private homes, offices, businesses, and local governments. I then envisioned this service can be a monthly/annual charge and people can simply sign up for an annual membership of $10-$20 per account online and can drop off their waste at any of these convenient locations.

I started designing the model in Inventor and made the base first and built the container up. I drilled 3 big holes for drop off counters for 3 types of waste and then finished the roof. I would later come back and design a road, speedbump and stop sign around the container to facilitate safe loading. I would also later add signs on the top of the counters to advertise our amazing new deal!

With our 20-foot container, we can set up a drive-through next to a major road or inside the parking lot of a retail outlet to allow customers to just bring their trash the next time they are heading to work. Additionally, there is a counter on the other side that can help residents walk around to deposit their waste. When a customer walks up they place their designated box on the right counter. Yellow boxes signify Glass while Red signifies Plastic and Orange for Aluminum. As of now, the depo can handle these 3 types of waste, but it can easily be configured for more types of trash like HDPE plastic, paper, cardboard, metal and even organic scraps for compost! Depending on each location R3 needs to evaluate the nearest recycling facilities which can process this waste and can coordinate for scheduled pickups. Once these items are collected for recycling only 1 truck needs to travel to the depo to collect the waste rather than multiple vehicles going through every single neighborhood which maximizes efficiency and reduces emissions generated by the vehicle.

At first, I added the solar panels on to the roof and made a pipe carrying the wires to the edge of the building. I then added a battery pack on top for energy storage. I also added a sign on the top to showcase the new companies' logo. A little bit later on I came back and added in a wind turbine when I realized it would complement the panels when there was no sun.

We got the power to change the world not only thanks to the containers that can be placed anywhere and work off the grid thanks to the Solar Panels on top along with the wind turbine generating renewable energy. The container could also be connected to the grid for stable power production and can help cities also generate extra power through net metering or a battery pack can be installed on the roof allowing the module to be completely energy independent.

In the end R3s concept can help bring the modern innovations of recycling to villages/towns previously thought of as too remote or very uneconomical. Together this new industry could create new jobs in local communities and encourage a sustainable supply chain in domestic markets rather than harvesting more and more raw materials through unsustainable means. So, what are you waiting for; R3 awaits all of you in a place nearby!

The walk up was made to facilitate the needs of customers in a local area. I made a fence around the back and then extruded a section of the wall out to create another counter.