Patent ID: 7383195

Claim:
A method for sorting a plurality of waste items, the method comprising: providing a plurality of container compartments, each container compartment configured to receive a removable container; providing a plurality of removable containers, wherein each of said removable containers comprises an opening; providing a movable lid coupled with each of said removable containers; wherein the removable containers are configured to be placed within the container compartments, wherein each of the removable containers is associated with at least one of a plurality of waste categories, wherein the movable lid is movable to an open position and a closed position; and wherein at least a portion of one or more of said lids comprises a section that permits visualization of the internal contents of the container coupled with said lid; scanning barcode information on a waste item via a scanner; assigning the waste item to at least one waste category based at least in part on the information obtained from the scanner and waste item classification information; and identifying one of the removable containers based on the waste category by automatically moving the lid coupled to the identified removable container to the open position to permit disposal of said waste item; and locking the movable lid in the closed position after receipt of the waste item.