The past year has opened our eyes to the possibilities of AI. Most people now can say they have actively sought the aid of AI - help writing emails, editing images, etc. We have also seen it's dark side; one of them anyway, and certainly not the darkest. But while we have fun with AI, we don't generally apply it for the greater good. Yet. The role of AI in recycling: Automated systems for sorting waste is useful and a time saver. But applying predictive analytics to forecast waste generation trends could also help increase the efficiency of waste-management strategies. And better yet, this information can tell us where we fall short and inform targeted campaigns to get us all better educated on, and therefore better at, recycling. Large initial investments may be a barrier to the implementation of AI in recycling schemes as discussed above. But in a world full of trash, this may be one area that we will really benefit from letting AI influence our behaviour.