Utensil metal detector

An apparatus for detecting utensils being improperly placed in a trashcan having a top periphery forming an aperture to the trashcan, the apparatus comprising:

• a mounting lip adapted to conform to the top periphery of the trashcan and adapted to removably mount to the top periphery of the trashcan to surround the aperture of the trashcan;
• a funnel shaped entryway attached to the mounting lip and extending from an inside perimeter of the mounting lip;
• a plurality of vertical walls attached to the funnel shaped entryway wherein the vertical walls are below the mounting lip and the top periphery of the trashcan and inside surfaces of the plurality of vertical walls form an opening to the trashcan;
• a detector coil coupled to and surrounding the plurality of vertical walls for detecting metal passing through the opening to the trashcan;
• and
• control electronics integrally attached outside of the mounting lip and coupled to the detector coil, the control electronics comprising:
• an on/off switch coupled to the detector coil for turning power on or off;
• a speaker coupled to the detector coil for providing an audio alert to a user to warn that the detector coil has detected metal passing through the opening;
• a light indicator coupled to the detector coil for providing an visual alert to a user to warn that the detector coil has detected metal passing through the opening;
• a counter display coupled to the detector coil for displaying a counter that counts the number of times the detector coil has detected metal passing through the opening;
• and
• a gain adjust for adjusting the sensitivity of the detector coil.