A public, privacy-conscious decision-support prototype helping people choose a safer next step for unused technology.
🏆 Placed 5th of 24 teams at Macquarie University's Pitch for the Planet 2026 (Faculty of Science and Engineering).
View the showcase poster (PDF) · Original competition poster (PDF)
Students often keep unused phones, laptops and storage devices in drawers — not because they don't care about sustainability, but because they're uncertain whether their personal data can still be recovered, and unsure what to do next. This creates both an e-waste problem and a cybersecurity barrier.
In under two minutes, a user answers a short set of non-identifying questions about a device (ownership, power state, physical safety, condition, goal, and data sensitivity). RebootLoop then:
- Routes the device toward repair, transfer or recycling, with explicit stops for hazards, non-owned devices, high-sensitivity data, non-functioning devices and storage media that need a specific process
- Guides preparation with links to official sources for working consumer devices; stops when a reset cannot be completed or checked
- Shows a relevant public pathway for eligible phones (MobileMuster) and computers (NTCRS), with accepted-item checks and no claimed partnership
- Breaks the route into two next steps, such as wiping the device with the official guide and then handing it over or dropping it off, with a residual-risk warning up front. For a handover, it offers a printable note that tells the next owner how to check the device was properly reset
- Shows an estimated impact for finishing the job: a CO₂e range for a typical phone, tablet or computer based on manufacturers' published footprints, or published recycling figures for recycle routes. People can save their plan by email, text, share sheet or copy
- Explains a single-model carbon scenario based on Apple's published iPhone 16 footprint; it does not claim measured carbon savings
RebootLoop does not erase data, certify sanitisation, or guarantee non-recoverability. It is a decision layer before handover — not a replacement for existing recycling/reuse schemes like MobileMuster or the NTCRS.
Website: rebootloopmq.github.io/RebootLoop · Demo: rebootloopmq.github.io/RebootLoop/demo.html
The site is a set of static pages with no accounts or RebootLoop backend. Assessment answers and session counts remain in browser memory; hosting and external links may process ordinary access information. Reloading clears the assessment. A saved plan or printed next-owner note stays with the user unless they choose to share it.
git clone https://github.com/RebootLoopMQ/RebootLoop.git
cd RebootLoop/prototype
open index.html # home page; the demo is demo.htmlThe prototype/ folder is the GitHub Pages deployment source: index.html (home), demo.html (the assessment), why.html, industry.html and evidence.html, sharing styles.css. The original competition screenshots remain in assets/screenshots as historical material; they do not depict the current public app.
Priority order: physical safety → authority/ownership → high data sensitivity → inability to reset / media-specific risk → device viability → preferred outcome.
Every recommendation is produced by explicit, inspectable rules — not an opaque AI score. See /docs for the full routing table and five mandatory edge-case tests.
RebootLoop's problem framing and safety boundaries are grounded in published research and government guidance, not assumption:
- 511,000 t of e-waste generated in Australia in 2019, projected to reach 657,000 t by 2030 — Australian Government DCCEEW
- Sydney university students know what e-waste is but have a real knowledge gap around collection points and recycling programs — Islam, Dias & Huda, Macquarie University research (2021)
- 40% of people asked directly about data security considered it a barrier to recycling — MobileMuster Annual Report 2024, p. 23
- Correct disposal preparation reduces but does not guarantee data cannot be recovered — Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC)
- Aligns with UN SDG 12 Targets 12.5 (waste reduction/reuse/recycling) and 12.8 (awareness and information) — UN SDG 12
The carbon example and limits are in the evidence and claim ledger.
- Vanilla HTML / CSS / JavaScript in a single file; no runtime network dependency for the assessment
- No accounts or RebootLoop backend; plans and the next-owner note are generated in the browser and only leave it if the user saves or shares them
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Project Coordination + Cybersecurity Lead | Shah Noor Mostafa Bhuiyan |
| Sustainability + Evidence Lead | Nafe Ibne Mamun |
| UX + Practicality Lead | Alexander Kai Cryan |
The team is invited to the (Tech)^US BIT Industry Showcase on 8 October 2026. MobileMuster has been contacted for feedback; there is no confirmed partnership. A campus device-handling pilot needs separate university permission, privacy review and agreed partners. The immediate work is real usability testing and a truthful presentation of what people can do in the public app. See the showcase test and evidence plan and proposed pilot plan.
Potential institution-funded operations and reporting are business-model hypotheses. There are no paying customers, price tests, pickup service or verified outcomes yet.
Primary: UN SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production — Targets 12.5, 12.8) Supporting: UN SDG 13 (Climate Action)
MIT (see LICENSE) — adjust if your team prefers something else.