Want to know why you should recycle? Not to ensure clean water and clean air. Not to save the rainforest. Not to help cute little critically endangered animals. The answer you're looking for is guilt. Guilt and shame. And this trash can makes that all possible.

BinCam is simply a regular trash can with an Xperia X10 Mini stuck to the inside of the lid. Whenever you open it to throw something away, the phone takes a pic and then uploads it to the BinCam Facebook app for you. You can compare your dirty and careless habits to other people using the app, and receive (virtual) rewards for good recycling efforts along with an estimate of how much money you've saved by not throwing away food. And of course, any of your duck-squeezing pacific northwest Facebook friends who catch you throwing away recyclables or recycling compostables (heaven forbid!) will have ample opportunity to publicly chew you out online.

The BBC has a short video report on BinCam, featuring two fetchingly accented students from Newcastle University who helped create the project.

BinCam, via Engadget