GeniCan scans your trash to make grocery lists and arrange delivery

With dozens of smart home products on the CES show floor, who would have guessed a trash can would be what everyone was talking about?

What is it?

GeniCan is a stick-on attachment for your trash can that uses a barcode scanner and voice recognition to help you compile grocery lists based on what you’re throwing away.

Simply scan an item before tossing it into the trash and GeniCan automagically adds it to an accompanying smartphone app. If the item doesn’t have a barcode, or it’s unreadable, you’ll just hold the item in front of the scanner and wait for the prompt. Once GeniCan asks what you’re throwing away, simply tell it, and it’ll add that to the list as well.

Better still, you don’t even have to leave the house to buy these grocery items. GeniCan can arrange grocery delivery based on the items in your list.

If you needed an additional perk, it’ll even text you — or your child (my pick) — to take out the trash when it’s full.

Why does it matter?

Smart home items are all the rage these days and the trash can is still about as dumb as it can get. We’ve seen advancements at CES this year, but to date nothing has proven as simple or innovative as GeniCan. It’s small, lightweight, and extremely affordable. Once trash bins get ‘smart’ you can expect the price to be significantly more than this clever add-on.

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When is it coming?

GeniCan is currently available for pre-order at $125 — a savings of $25 over retail. It’s expected to ship early this year.

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