London, UK – 28 June 2025

TeknTrash Robotics, a pioneering research company specializing in robotic-based solutions for waste handling, today announced the open sourcing of its groundbreaking POD (Point of Disposal) technology. The source code is now freely available to developers, researchers, and organizations worldwide through the company's GitHub repository at https://github.com/tekntrash/POD/

Democratizing Smart Waste Management Technology

POD, or “Point of Disposal”, is a technology created by TeknTrash: a very advanced network of smart bins able to recycle, reward for their use, and capture consumption data. Effectively incentivizing proper disposal practices, POD represents a significant breakthrough in waste management intelligence, serving as an innovative device designed to capture detailed consumption data and provide the critical "missing link" in a product's lifecycle analysis. And by now open sourcing its technology, TeknTrash Robotics aims to accelerate global innovation in sustainable waste management solutions. "We believe that the challenges facing our planet's waste management systems require collaborative solutions," said Al Costa, CEO and Founder of TeknTrash Robotics. "By making our POD technology open source, we're empowering developers, researchers, and organizations worldwide to build upon our work and create even more innovative solutions for a cleaner, more sustainable future."

Advanced Consumption Analytics

POD captures actual consumption data—not just sales. While Point of Sale (POS) systems tell you what was purchased, POD reveals what was truly consumed by analysing what ends up in the trash. Unlike sales data, consumption data enables powerful new insights, including:
1. Consumption Lag Analysis
Track the time between purchase and disposal to understand usage speed.
2. Geo-Consumption Matching
Compare purchase location with disposal location to validate marketing strategies.
3. Churn Detection
Identify users who stop disposing specific products and take action.
4. Campaign Monitoring
Measure the impact of advertising in real time based on regional usage.

Much more than just a bin

POD is not just a bin—it’s a smart device that:
• Identifies disposed products through a 2-layer system of barcode and shape recognition
• Measures Weight and Temperature of disposed products to assess consumption level and, thus, consumer satisfaction
• Sorts Waste into two internal bins: monitored vs. unmonitored products, thus allowing manufacturers to ensure their products are being properly handled after consumption
• Uses a touchscreen display for user prompts and interaction, such as registering, seeing their rewards, promotions, etc
• Recognizes users via an NFC card before disposing so they can get rewards or work anonymously, but still capturing essential data such as weight and temperature of the disposed products
• Connects to the Cloud to retrieve user and product monitoring data, integrating seamlessly with ProduTrak: a SAAS consumption data analytics platform
• Speaks to the user, offering rewards and feedback, and making it more inclusive to user with hearing impairments
• Verifies levels, closing the single waste entry point and indicating where there is another POD available

Seamless Integration with ProduTrak Ecosystem

The open-sourced POD technology seamlessly integrates with TeknTrash's ProduTrak system (https://www.produtrak.com). This is a revolutionary system which allows companies to know their consumers better by comparing production x sales x consumption data. This allows for more sales and an increase in brand equity. For that, ProduTrak aggregates consumption data from PODs and recycling plant robots: this integration provides comprehensive lifecycle analysis capabilities that were previously unavailable in the FMCG industries and which results in 80% of the 30 thousand new products being released in the US market alone failing.

Commitment to Open Innovation

TeknTrash is releasing the source code of POD freely under a MIT license at https://github.com/tekntrash/POD/. This aligns with TeknTrash Robotics' mission to revolutionize waste management through innovative technology under a collaborative model, where the community has a say on how recycling should be handled for its own good and of the environment. The idea is to foster innovation by creating a network of programmers and enthusiasts willing to improve the source code, fix bugs, create new features, etc."The decision to open-source POD reflects our commitment to fostering innovation in the waste management sector," added Costa. "We encourage developers to contribute to the project, adapt the technology for their specific needs, and help us create a global ecosystem of smart waste management solutions."
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Media Enquiries

TeknTrash
Ruiyan Xu – Media Manager
rxu@tekntrash.com
Mobile: +44 7421 727177
37th Floor, 1 Canada Square, London E14 5AA