UCSC Waste Tagging App

This is the initial MVP of a project tasked to me by the UCSC Sustainability Office: an AI-powered waste auditing application that uses machine learning to assist in determining the state of campus waste sorting.

My initial plan is to start by creating a simple mobile application where users can upload a variety of images of campus trash and tag it with data regarding the types of contaminants/waste in the dumpsters. The goal is to crowdsource this app to sustainability-motivated UCSC students, with the idea of creating a large dataset to train an AI model that can eventually perform this analysis independent of manual tagging.

From here, I will create a model trained on the aforementioned data to be able to utilize computer vision to automatically determine the levels of contamination in a given campus dumpster using PyTorch and TensorFlow to get a better understanding of how accurately garbage and recycling are sorted in their respective bins on campus.

Check out the web app here

Click here to access the application's privacy policy

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

Required for all platforms:

• Flutter SDK (3.8.1 or higher) - Installation Guide
• Git - Installation Guide
• Firebase CLI - Installation Guide

Platform-specific requirements:

For iOS development (macOS only):

• Xcode (latest stable version) - Available on Mac App Store
• iOS Simulator (included with Xcode)
• CocoaPods - Install with: sudo gem install cocoapods
• Apple Developer Account (for device deployment)

For Android development:

• Android Studio - Download
• Android SDK (API level 21 or higher)
• Java JDK (version 11 or higher)
• Android device or Android Emulator

For Web development:

• Chrome or Edge (recommended browsers for development)

📱 Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/nchalla3/ucsc-waste-tagging.git
   cd ucsc-waste-tagging

2. Install Flutter dependencies:

   flutter pub get

3. Verify your Flutter installation:

   flutter doctor

   Resolve any issues shown by flutter doctor before proceeding.

🔥 Firebase Setup

This app requires Firebase for authentication, data storage, and image hosting. Follow these steps:

1. Create a Firebase project:

   • Go to Firebase Console
   • Create a new project or use an existing one
   • Enable the following services:
     • Authentication (Email/Password and Google Sign-in)
     • Cloud Firestore
     • Cloud Storage

2. Configure Firebase for your platforms:

   For Android:

   # Install and configure Firebase CLI if not already done
   npm install -g firebase-tools
   firebase login
   
   # Initialize Firebase in your project
   firebase init
   
   # Generate Android configuration
   flutterfire configure --project=your-project-id

   This will create android/app/google-services.json

   For iOS:

   # Use the same flutterfire command, it will also generate iOS config
   flutterfire configure --project=your-project-id

   This will create ios/Runner/GoogleService-Info.plist

   For Web: The same flutterfire configure command will update lib/firebase_options.dart with web configuration.

3. Enable Authentication providers:

   • In Firebase Console, go to Authentication > Sign-in method
   • Enable "Email/Password" provider
   • Enable "Google" provider and configure OAuth consent screen

4. Set up Firestore security rules:

   rules_version = '2';
   service cloud.firestore {
     match /databases/{database}/documents {
       match /waste_reports/{document} {
         allow read, write: if request.auth != null;
       }
     }
   }

5. Set up Storage security rules:

   rules_version = '2';
   service firebase.storage {
     match /b/{bucket}/o {
       match /uploads/{allPaths=**} {
         allow read, write: if request.auth != null;
       }
     }
   }

▶️ Running the App

iOS (macOS only)

1. Open iOS Simulator or connect an iOS device

2. Run the app:

   flutter run -d ios

3. For physical device deployment:

   • Open ios/Runner.xcworkspace in Xcode
   • Select your development team
   • Choose your connected device
   • Run from Xcode or use flutter run

Android

1. Start an Android emulator or connect an Android device

   # List available devices
   flutter devices
   
   # Start an emulator (if you have one configured)
   flutter emulators --launch <emulator_id>

2. Run the app:

   flutter run -d android

Web

1. Run the app in Chrome:

   flutter run -d chrome

2. Build for web deployment:

   flutter build web

   The built files will be in the build/web directory.

🏗️ Development Workflow

Running in development mode:

# Hot reload development
flutter run

# Run with specific device
flutter run -d <device_id>

# Run in release mode
flutter run --release

Building for production:

Android APK:

flutter build apk

Android App Bundle (recommended for Google Play):

flutter build appbundle

iOS (requires macOS and Xcode):

flutter build ios

Web:

flutter build web

🧪 Testing

# Run all tests
flutter test

# Run tests with coverage
flutter test --coverage

# Run integration tests (if available)
flutter drive --target=test_driver/app.dart

📋 Project Structure

lib/
├── main.dart                 # App entry point
├── firebase_options.dart     # Firebase configuration
├── screens/                  # UI screens
│   ├── auth/                # Authentication screens
│   └── home/                # Main app screens
├── services/                # Business logic and API calls
├── widgets/                 # Reusable UI components
└── wrappers/                # App-level wrappers

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

Flutter Doctor Issues:

• Ensure all required tools are installed and in your PATH
• For Android: Make sure ANDROID_HOME environment variable is set
• For iOS: Ensure Xcode command line tools are installed: xcode-select --install

Firebase Configuration:

• Verify that google-services.json (Android) and GoogleService-Info.plist (iOS) are in the correct locations
• Check that your Firebase project has the required services enabled
• Ensure your app's package name matches your Firebase project configuration

Build Errors:

• Clean your build: flutter clean && flutter pub get
• For iOS: cd ios && pod install && cd ..
• For Android: Delete android/.gradle folder and rebuild

Authentication Issues:

• Verify OAuth consent screen is configured in Google Cloud Console
• Check that SHA-1 fingerprints are added for Android (for Google Sign-in)
• Ensure your domain is authorized in Firebase Authentication settings

Platform-specific Troubleshooting:

iOS:

• CocoaPods issues: cd ios && pod repo update && pod install
• Provisioning profile errors: Check signing settings in Xcode
• Simulator not found: Update Xcode or install additional simulators

Android:

• Gradle build failures: Update Android Gradle Plugin and Gradle wrapper
• SDK license issues: Run flutter doctor --android-licenses
• Emulator performance: Enable hardware acceleration in BIOS/UEFI

Web:

• CORS issues: Use flutter run -d chrome --web-renderer html
• Firebase configuration: Ensure web app is properly configured in Firebase Console

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/new-feature
3. Make your changes and test thoroughly
4. Commit your changes: git commit -m "Add new feature"
5. Push to your branch: git push origin feature/new-feature
6. Submit a pull request

📄 License

This project is developed for the UCSC Sustainability Office. Please contact the project maintainer for licensing information.

📞 Support

For technical issues or questions about the project, please:

1. Check the troubleshooting section above
2. Search existing issues in the repository
3. Create a new issue with detailed information about your problem

🏫 About UCSC Sustainability Office

This project is developed in partnership with the UC Santa Cruz Sustainability Office to support campus waste reduction and sustainability goals.