BinAI wins Rep. Gabe Amo’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Rhode Island’s First District
Rep. Gabe Amo has named Mohammed Umar of Lincoln High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Rhode Island’s First District. Their app BinAI is a user-friendly mobile application that uses AI to help users recycle correctly.
When asked what inspired the creation of BinAI, Mohammed Umar said, “While researching projects for my school exhibition project last year, I learned that many people don’t know how to recycle correctly. I also learned that Rhode Island is in a ‘recycling crisis’ because around 70% of all items sent to be recycled in Rhode Island actually end up in the landfill. And at this rate, Rhode Island’s only landfill, the Central Landfill in Johnston, is expected to reach maximum capacity by 2038 as per EcoRI. Once it’s full, Rhode Island’s trash will have to be transported somewhere else, which would be extremely expensive. That’s when I decided to create a small program that could detect some items as trash or recyclable. Later during the summer, I wanted to expand on my project and make something bigger that can be used by anyone in the world, and that could actually make an impact, so I created a user-friendly app to spread awareness about recycling.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.