About the challenge

Arbiter Hacks V1 runs two parallel tracks. Pick one when you register, or switch before the submission deadline. You may only submit to one track.

General Track: Build anything. Any language, any stack, any idea. This track rewards technical ambition and execution, regardless of subject.

Theme Track, Rethinking Waste: Build something that helps people or systems reduce, sort, or recycle waste more effectively. Examples include a tool that identifies whether an item is recyclable, an app that routes food waste to donation, a hardware or vision system that sorts materials, or a dataset or model that improves recycling accuracy. If it moves the needle on waste, it fits.

The tracks are judged separately, against separate rubrics, for separate prizes. A polished General submission and a high-impact Theme submission compete only within their own track.

Get started

  1. Register and pick a track.
  2. Form a team of [1 to 4] or go solo.
  3. Late submissions are not judged.

Requirements

What to Build

General Track: Any working software or hardware project. No topic restriction.

Theme Track: A project whose primary purpose addresses waste reduction, sorting, or recycling. Judges will check that the theme is central to the project, not bolted on. A to-do app with a "recycling" label is a General project, not a Theme one.

What to Submit

Every submission must include:

  • A public code repository (GitHub, GitLab, or equivalent).
  • A demo video, [2 to 3] minutes max, showing the project working. Upload to YouTube or Vimeo and link it.
  • A written description: what it does, how you built it, and what you'd do next.
  • Theme Track only: one paragraph stating the specific waste problem you targeted and how you'd measure whether it worked.

 

Missing the repo or the video makes a submission ineligible.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$300 in prizes
1st Place General
$100 in cash
1 winner

Earn 100 Dollars Cash

1st Place Theme
$100 in cash
1 winner

Earn 100 Dollars Cash

2nd Place General
$50 in cash
1 winner

Earn 50 Dollars Cash

2nd Place Theme
$50 in cash
1 winner

Earn 50 Dollars Cash

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Aaryav Lal

Aaryav Lal
AXEIS

Judging Criteria

  • Technical Execution (General)
    Code quality, working functionality, and the difficulty of what was built. Weighted 35%.
  • Innovation & Originality
    How novel the idea or approach is. Weighted 25%.
  • Completeness & Polish (General)
    How finished the project is. Rough edges, broken features, and unfinished flows lose points. Weighted 25%.
  • Presentation & Demo Clarity (General)
    How clearly the demo video and writeup explain what was built. Weighted 15%.
  • Impact on Waste Problem (Theme)
    How meaningfully the project reduces, sorts, or improves recycling of waste. The theme must be central, not bolted on. Weighted 35%.
  • Technical Execution (Theme)
    Code quality, working functionality, and the difficulty of what was built. Weighted 25%.
  • Feasibility (Theme)
    Could this actually be deployed in the real world? A working solution beats a clever one that can't ship. Weighted 20%.
  • Presentation & Demo Clarity (Theme)
    How clearly the demo video and writeup explain what was built. Weighted 20%.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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