Blockchain is the simplest and most common example of Digital LEDGER Technology (DLT). The Blockchain links blocks of data by identifiers and the tech is considered verifiable, secure, and immutable. Although most popularly known for the networks powering the cryptocurrencies, the emerging tech has gained mainstream adoption in banking and other sectors over the years and the continued innovation is now seeing it extend its reach with use cases in other areas, one of which is waste management.
Humans 400 million tons of plastic a year. While a small portion gets recycled, most of it ends up in landfills etc. Since there is no automation applied to the process, billions of parts along the waste management chain are difficult to track. Now, three pilot projects in Argentina, India, and the United States intend to streamline the process & add accountability by adopting blockchain technology.
JellyCoin
The first such endeavor is by an entrepreneur from the northeastern town of Campo Viera in Argentina, who created a cryptocurrency called JellyCoin. The local crypto is aimed at improving local waste collection and is built on a blockchain. The value of JellyCoin will be pegged to the Argentinian peso & Campo Viera will be adopting it in a limited capacity. It would be initially be used to compensate citizen waste collectors, depending on how far they have traveled to bring trash to the recycle centers. The digital coin can then be used to make certain payments like real estate taxes in the city initially— with a wider adoption expected in the future.
“The idea sort of came from this desire to look at people’s habits, to change the way that people interact with the resources they’re using.”
~ Ivan Zubilewicz, JellyCoin creator
App for Garbage
Similarly, a blockchain initiative is taking shape in Bengaluru, India. The endeavor is supported by a nonprofit group called CITAG (Citizen Involved & Technology Assisted Governance). The waste collection in the city is already monitored by an app via which the citizens can lodge complaints about irregularities in waste management — collector neglect or black spots etc. The app currently has a system of geotagging, where an officer addressing such complaints, takes a picture and timestamps it to confirm the issue has been resolved.
However, this is prone to irregularities like tampering with past entries to confirm that work has been done, when actually it’s not. To avoid this tampering & keep the records accurate and complete, CITAG & the municipal government are planning to introduce a blockchain tech-enabled app. Currently, in the pilot mode, the final version is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
RecycleGO
This final waste management project is much broader in scale and intends to have a global outreach. RecycleGO, a five-person startup based in New York, is targeting communities around the world. According to reports, the company has plans to oversee a beach cleanup in Miami — where QR codes on plastic bottles will be scanned, and bottles will be added to and tracked on a blockchain as they are broken down into raw materials and turned into merchandise.
The company is also planning to roll out a similar, but a much larger effort in Nigeria & Ghana — in the former, Plastic bottles and the bales into which they are bundled will receive QR codes, which in turn would reveal the chain of custody. Whereas in the latter, blockchain will be used to track fishing nets lost in the ocean, as they are collected, baled, and turned back into nylon nets.
CEO Stan Chen’s ultimate goal is to achieve 100% recycling — powered by blockchain technology.
Originally Published on Medium
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