Patent ID: 7454358

Claim:
A method for sorting waste items, the method comprising: providing a waste sorting system comprising a plurality of container compartments, each container compartment configured to receive a removable container; providing a plurality of 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 at least one of the removable containers comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag; wherein at least one of the container compartments comprises a radio frequency (RFID) reader; wherein the RFID reader is configured to read the RFID tag to determine a position within the waste sorting system and the waste category of the container; providing a scanner configured to determine a barcode located on a waste item; providing a control system that compares information obtained from the barcode with waste item classification information; assigning the waste item to at least one waste category; identifying one of the removable containers based on the waste category; automatically opening the identified removable container to move to the open position to permit disposal of said waste item; and restricting access to the identified removable container after receipt of a waste item by locking said container in a closed position.