Waste analysis system and method

A computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory coupled to the processor, the memory containing instructions, that when executed by the processor, perform the steps of:
• receiving an image of one or more discarded products from a camera;
• performing an object recognition process on the received image to identify the one or more discarded products within the image;
• acquiring metadata relating to the one or more identified discarded products from the received image;
• recording the metadata;
• analyzing the metadata with a rules engine;
• determining an overage amount of product as a function of the acquired metadata;
• deriving a suggestion for waste reduction based on the determination;
• and
• generating a report based on the recorded metadata, wherein the report includes the suggestion for waste reduction.

A computer program product for identifying waste in a process, for an electronic computing device comprising a computer readable hardware storage device having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the electronic device to:

• receive an image of one or more discarded products from a camera;
• perform an object recognition process on the received image to identify the one or more discarded products within the image;
• acquire metadata relating to the one or more identified discarded products from the received image;
• record the metadata;
• analyze the metadata with a rules engine;
• determine an overage amount of product as a function of the acquired metadata;
• derive a suggestion for waste reduction based on the determination;
• and
• generate a report based on the recorded metadata, wherein the report includes the suggestion for waste reduction.