This device attaches to garbage cans and recycle bins and can automatically reorder common household items on Amazon after people throw them out. (GeniCan Photo)
This device attaches to garbage cans and recycle bins and can automatically reorder common household items on Amazon after people throw them out. (GeniCan Photo)

Garbage bins will soon be able to talk to Amazon.

Thanks to a smart device that attaches to garbage cans and recycling bins, users will be able to add to shopping lists and even automatically reorder household essentials through Amazon.

GeniCan is one of several new brands that have joined Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service, which leverages sensors in a wide range of smart devices to track when new supplies need to be ordered and automatically purchases them on Amazon on behalf of customers.

GeniCan’s newest device is set for release in January. It will attach to a bin, and when people throw away items, they can scan barcodes and add them to a shopping list on their smartphone. The integration with Amazon’s DRS means the device can tell Amazon to automatically reorder popular items once they are thrown away or recycled.

Other brands joining the program include Honeywell, Nestle and WePlenish. Here’s a quick rundown of each brand’s Dash replenishment capability.

  • Honeywell Connected Devices calculates when a new air filter is needed and automatically orders one from Amazon.
  • Nestle’s BabyNes system is WiFi enabled and syncs with a smartphone to allow parents to track a baby’s nutrition or get an alert when a caregiver feeds the baby. DRS allows the device to automatically reorder more formula when supply is low.
  • WePlenish Java stores coffee capsules, learns coffee drinkers’ consumption patterns, and — with Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service — automatically reorders coffee when supply is low. It can do the same for pet food.

Other brands using DRS include August, Brita, Behmore, Brother, Cleverpet, GE, Petcube, Samsung, Whirlpool, and others. Amazon also said this morning that more connected devices from these brands have been added to the program.

Amazon opened up the program to developers who want to integrate a device or service with DRS, removing the need to build a separate back-end infrastructure for authentication, payment systems, etc. Amazon is challenging developers through a contest to come up with something that “helps advance the vision of automatic or low-friction replenishment,” according to an Amazon press release. Project submissions are due by 11:59 a.m. on Dec. 31 and winners will be announced about two weeks later on Jan. 13.

DRS is a companion project to the Amazon Dash button, which lets consumers press the button to trigger a new order for whichever product (laundry detergent, Mac & Cheese, etc.) is associated with that button.

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