Prairie Robotics out of Regina has completed a 16-week residency with the provincial government to develop technology that can determine the amount of waste that is going into landfills along with the types of waste that are being thrown out.

Sam Dietrich with Prairie Robotics says their goal is to identify the major problems municipalities are facing when it comes to landfills and to take their operations to the next level.

Dietrich adds there are about 190 landfills in the province and only 20 of them are equipped with weigh scales. With Prairie Robotics’ “Sight Scale” waste management solution, they’re able to outfit a site with cameras and a computer which can estimate the type of waste and the weight of waste coming into a landfill.

Dietrich says they had until March 31st of this year to complete their residency. In addition, the researchers received a $10 thousand dollar grant to help develop their product.

Prairie Robotics continues to actively work with cities and municipalities in Saskatchewan to develop their product further. Prairie Robotics was one of two research groups to win the Waste Diversion Challenge through Innovation Saskatchewan which led to working with the province for 16 weeks.

Dietrich says in February, there will be a demo day in which they’ll be able to test their technology and unveil it to the Ministry of Environment.

The Regina-based company hope one day the technology will expand outside of the province.