LONG BEACH, California – How far does your cell phone, printer cartridge or battery travel after you throw it out?
In 2009 MIT's Senseable City Lab invited 500 people in Seattle, Washington, to tag their trash with smart tags in order to track where it traveled once it left their garbage bins. The researchers tracked 3,000 pieces of refuse from bagels to banana peels to shoes and cell phones over a two-month period as the items logged miles across the United States.
Carlo Ratti, director of the lab, presented this enlightening video of the project last week at the Technology Entertainment and Design conference.
