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The assignment was wide open: Design something based on the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, and develop it into a prototype product. The results ranged from simple mechanical devices to complex electronic machines, but all served that central purpose in original ways.

Seven teams from MIT's Product Engineering Processes class came up with the following concepts:

1. A solar-powered bin that automatically sorts the recyclable bottles and cans dumped into it.
2. Insulation panels from discarded plastic bottles - includes income generation for the low income people for whom the solution is meant
3. Bicycle powered grinding machine for shea butter.
4. Coffee bean sorter for the developing world.
5. a shower system that automatically reduces the water flow while a person is lathering up. It does this by using photocells to detect when the person reaches for the soap, to address both water shortages and energy use.
6.A TV remote that is self powering and doesn't need batteries anymore
7. Reuse and recyling discarded oil filters.

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