An Oscar Sorter awaiting a visitor in the Talley Pavilions.
In an exciting step toward a greener campus, NC State Dining and NC State Student Centers are teaming up to introduce two Oscar Sorters to high-traffic spaces in Talley Student Union this fall.
Oscar is a digital waste sorting assistant that uses computer vision technology and real-time feedback to guide users into making the right disposal decisions. When a member of the Wolfpack community approaches the station, Oscar instantly analyzes their items and provides clear, immediate guidance on whether they belong in the recycling, compost or landfill streams. By pointing out exactly where items go at the precise moment of disposal, Oscar tackles one of the biggest hurdles in university waste management: contamination from improper recycling.
The need for smarter sorting was underscored by the 2026 Talley Waste Audit, conducted by NC State’s Waste Reduction and Recycling office alongside Service Raleigh volunteers. The team hand-sorted a day’s worth of waste into 20 categories and discovered that 63% of the material sent to the landfill could have actually been diverted to composting, recycling or reuse. With compostable items alone making up 45% of the landfill stream, Oscar’s real-time guidance directly targets these everyday sorting gaps, empowering the campus community to turn that 63% potential into real environmental impact.
Trained on NC State’s Trash
What makes Oscar uniquely effective is that the system is literally “trained on NC State’s trash.” The waste sorter relies exclusively on training data gathered from previous NC State waste items to distinguish between landfill, recyclable and compostable items. The technology focuses strictly on material identification, automatically blurs faces captured by its cameras and does not store any personal data.
Oscar Sorters have been installed at the Talley Pavilions and One Earth. At One Earth, diners are already set up for sustainability success: the vast majority of its dining materials – including the food, takeout containers and utensils – are fully compostable. Because so much of the waste stream is already designated for the compost bin, Oscar will help diners effortlessly identify and sort the rest of their waste, taking the guesswork out of the cleanup process.
Building Sustainable Habits
“While the technology itself is impressive, what excites me most is the opportunity this initiative creates for education and collaboration,” said Dr. TJ Willis, associate director of building services for Student Centers. “As departments that collectively serve thousands of students, faculty, staff and visitors each day, Dining and Student Centers are uniquely positioned to influence behaviors and create meaningful learning experiences outside the classroom. Every interaction with Oscar becomes an opportunity to teach sustainability, reinforce responsible habits and help our campus community better understand the impact of their everyday choices.”
“We’re always looking for new ways to enhance the guest experience while advancing our sustainability goals,” said Shawn Hoch, senior director for hospitality services. “Oscar is an exciting example of how technology can make it easier for our guests to make environmentally responsible choices while providing valuable data that helps us continually improve our operations. This partnership demonstrates how thoughtful solutions can create a better experience for our campus community while supporting NC State’s commitment to environmental stewardship.”
By placing these units in highly visible student hubs, the campus community will gain a deeper understanding of:
- The direct environmental impact of everyday personal choices.
- The crucial role that reducing contamination plays in keeping recycling streams clean.
- The lifecycle of materials and how composting successfully drives waste diversion.
- The campus community’s collective responsibility in achieving institutional sustainability goals.
Behind the scenes, Oscar will serve as a “living laboratory” for the university. The system connects to a waste analytics platform that tracks waste diversion metrics, usage statistics and composition trends. This valuable data will not only support future sustainability programming and student research projects but will also offer a clear, measurable picture of how the Wolfpack is advancing its environmental stewardship goals.
This scalable pilot project is made possible through sponsorship from The Coca-Cola Company, which fully funded the addition of the Oscar Sorters to support campus sustainability efforts. Campus members can look forward to interacting with Oscar ahead of the fall semester.