Video: Tracking 3,000 Pieces of Trash With GPS

Ever wonder what happens to that aluminum beer can, plastic yogurt cup, or cardboard pizza box after you toss it in the recycling bin?

Well, so did the good people at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who in 2009 embarked on an ambitious effort to tag 3,000 pieces of trash with GPS-type sensors and track them through the national waste stream. They announced the project shortly after the publication of a three-part series in Mother Jones in which I followed my garbage and recycling through San Francisco’s legendary recycling and composting system.

I’d also wanted to attach GPS tags to my trash, but unlike the nerds at MIT, didn’t have $300,000 to drop on sensors. The MIT team synthesized their results into this fascinating video, which has been out for a while, sure. But it’s still totally worth watching. 

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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