Common questions

EARTH is a mobile app that lets you document packaging waste using your phone camera. You take a photo, our AI reads the brand, material, packaging type, and ingredients — and files it into the World Trash Can, a permanent community database of packaging found in the real world.

The World Trash Can (WTC) is what EARTH builds — a growing, community-sourced record of every piece of packaging documented by our users. Each entry includes brand, material, packaging type, barcode, GPS location, photos, and (where visible) ingredients and nutrition data. Think of it as an open audit of what brands actually produce and where it ends up.

Yes — scan anything. A crisp packet on the street, a shampoo bottle in your bathroom, a yoghurt pot before you put it in the bin. The data is just as valuable whether the item is on the ground or on your kitchen counter. EPR laws require brands to report where their packaging goes at all stages, not just after it becomes litter.

When you attach photos in the EARTH chat, they're sent to a vision AI model (Google Gemini) that reads the label. It extracts brand name, product name, packaging type, material, recycle code, volume, barcode, ingredients, allergens, and nutrition where visible. The more angles you photograph, the more data it can extract. Results are stored instantly — even if you close the app.

We collect a username, your scans, and approximate GPS location (for mapping where packaging is found). We do not sell personal data. Location is used only to geo-tag packaging — it's associated with the item, not a profile. See our privacy policy for full details.

Location turns individual scans into geographic evidence. A single sighting of a Coca-Cola bottle doesn't mean much. Ten thousand sightings mapped across a coastline tells a brand — and a regulator — exactly where their packaging ends up. That's the kind of data EPR compliance reports require.

Yes, the app is free. We're currently in private beta. Request early access and we'll send you an invite code.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws hold brands financially and legally accountable for the end-of-life of their packaging. The EU's EPR Directive requires brands to report where their packaging ends up and fund collection and recycling proportionally to what they put on the market. Similar laws are rolling out across the UK, Canada, and parts of the US. Brands are legally required to have this data — and most don't.

Open the app and go to your Profile — there's a feedback button there. Or email us directly. We read everything.