Tech: Smart bins + AI sortingJob: Recycling technicianAuthors: E. H. Ackerman & J. D. AckermanARQS Press
Reading band: Ages 6–11Headline tech: Smart bins and AI sortingThe job: Recycling technicianLocation: Riverside Renewal Yard, beside the bright blue harbour
The Hook
Riverside Renewal Yard needs a crew for its Recycling Olympics, where correct sorting earns city points. A mystery item jams the smart-bin scoreboard one hour before medal time.
Cast in this issue
Tray (10): calm planner and spreadsheet brain.
Jay (8): hungry chaos engine and enthusiastic sorter.
PANEL 1Silver conveyors loop past recycling medals at the harbour yard. MS. PRUITT: “I need Recycling Technicians: gloves on, stay behind the line, no mystery items.” JAY: “Bet. I was born ready to recycle.” TRAY: “You were born holding a cracker.”
PANEL 2Rae checks her belt’s earlier wrench, remotes, meters, clips, and safety tools, then adds a Magnet Grabber. BIG GAG: It sticks to loose lunch spoons, making Rae a very serious metal porcupine.RAE: “New rule: magnets away from my snack fork.”
PANEL 3A smart bin flashes a camera eye. RAE: “Kid version: cameras and sensors notice shape and material. The computer picks a chute, and sorting AI learns by checking results.” TRAY: “A trash referee with glasses.” JAY: “A referee who loves cans.”
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PANEL 4Tray’s clean can goes to metal; Jay’s empty bottle goes to plastic. Green lights ping. MS. PRUITT: “Empty, dry, sorted—that is the vibe.” BOLT: “Yip!” JAY: “Bolt says we are workin’ it.”
PANEL 5Jay places a soggy paper lunch bag with a banana peel on the belt. The screen asks: PAPER? FOOD? SAD HAT? BIG GAG: A robot arm gently puts the bag on a mannequin and awards it a cardboard crown.JAY: “The bin is low-key judging me.” RAE: “It is requesting information.”
PANEL 6Jay reaches in with the Magnet Grabber; it grabs the rail and pulls him into a one-foot pirouette. BIG GAG: He bows as Bolt holds an 8.5 scorecard.TRAY: “Plan first, panic later.” JAY: “I planned that ending.”
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PANEL 7Rae presses the safe-stop. MS. PRUITT: “Wet food and paper can spoil a whole bundle.” TRAY: “Mistake logged: we guessed.” JAY: “My guess had confidence.” RAE: “Confidence is not a material.”
PANEL 8Food goes to compost; dry paper and the can go to their chutes. Rae safely lifts a metal cap from the jam with the Grabber. The bin scans again; the score jumps from 82 to 100. BIG GAG: Reusable fabric confetti rains down; Bolt wears one square as a cape.MS. PRUITT: “Big-brain fix!”
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PANEL 9Ms. Pruitt hands Rae eighteen Crew Coins. MS. PRUITT: “You followed rules, stopped safely, and corrected the sort. That is technician work.” RAE: “Pay us properly, and we accept compostable high-fives.” TRAY writes: “Recycling Olympics: +$18. Crew Bank total: $166.”
PANEL 10Wind blows a card onto the ledger: “SKY TRAM—WIND SENSOR CHECK.” JAY: “Hold my juice box. The sky is hiring.” TRAY: “That’s a tomorrow problem.”
Tech Talk with Rae
RAE’S TOOLBOX BOX
Smart bins use cameras, weight readers, and material sensors to inspect items.
Sorting AI compares those clues with examples it knows.
Conveyors send items to the machine that can handle them.
Dirty or confusing items mean stop and check, never guess.
Funny caveat: a soggy lunch bag can look like a sad hat.
TRY IT: With an adult, label paper, metal, and compost, then sort three clean items.
The Job Board
Job title: Recycling technician
Who hired us: Ms. Margo Pruitt, materials manager.
Rules of the job: Gloves and goggles; safety line; clean, dry items; stop before clearing a jam.
What went wrong: Jay sent a soggy food-scrap bag onto the belt.
How we fixed it: We used the safe stop, sorted it correctly, and Rae cleared the cap with the Magnet Grabber.
What we got paid: $18 in Crew Coins; Crew Bank total: $166.
Slang Decoder
Bet:** “Yes, I’m in!”Vibe:** the feeling of a moment.Low-key:** a little bit or quietly.Big brain:** a clever idea.Glow up:** an improvement that looks fresher.
The Riverside Recycling Olympics needs a fast, fair sorting crew—and Tray, Jay, and Rae are on the clock! Smart bins can spot metal, paper, and plastic, but can they identify Jay’s soggy “sad hat”? With a jammed conveyor, a magnetic mishap, and a cape-ready dog, the crew must sort out the mess before the final score flashes. Next stop: the sky tram!
A full-colour graphic-novel cartoon at Riverside Renewal Yard beside a bright blue harbour: Tray, 10, has warm brown skin, short curly black hair with a lightning-bolt shaved part on the LEFT, chunky blue-framed smart glasses with a tiny camera dot on the right lens, mustard-yellow gear-patch hoodie, teal cargo shorts, bright orange sneakers, and slim tech backpack with drone-shaped zipper pull; Jay, 8, has lighter brown freckled skin, wild messy black hair, one missing front tooth, lime-green rocket-print T-shirt, red gadget-pocket shorts, striped and polka-dot mismatched socks, and purple glowing-lace sneakers, mid-pirouette with the Grabber; Rae, 12, has dark brown skin, two long black braids with gold bead cuffs, purple rolled-sleeve utility jumpsuit, wrench-filled tool belt, goggles on her forehead, smartwatch on her right wrist, and silver-and-pink high-tops, smiling as Bolt wears a fabric cape. Thick clean ink, saturated mustard, teal, lime, purple, orange, and coral, warm light.
Issue 11 appears in the collection Tray & Jay: World Explorers with its full-colour comic
illustration, Tech Talk page, Job Board card and Slang Decoder.
