Skip to content
UChicago DSI Research Software Engineering

← Projects10

Reusable Foodware System Design

DSI engineers built a data pipeline allowing Perpetual, a zero-waste nonprofit, to determine optimal locations for foodware recycling bins in any city based on weighted distances to popular points of interest. The pipeline was later extended to determine optimal pick-up and drop-off routes given a set number of vehicles with limited carrying capacities.

Screenshot 2025-07-17 at 4.08.32 PM

DSI engineers built a data pipeline allowing Perpetual, a zero-waste nonprofit, to determine optimal locations for foodware recycling bins in any city based on weighted distances to popular points of interest. The pipeline was later extended to determine optimal pick-up and drop-off routes given a set number of vehicles with limited carrying capacities. To date, Perpetual has used the pipeline as part of its foodware system design process in Hilo, Hawaii; Savannah, Georgia; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Galveston, Texas.

Partners

Perpetual is a zero-waste nonprofit working to replace single-use foodware with citywide reusable systems.