Inspiration
There are many homeless people whose livelihoods depend on recycling waste, while at the same time there are many parties that don't recycle properly, due to lack of accessible recycling options (condo doesn't offer recycling) or lack of more economical options (businesses don't care to separate recycling since it would be more expensive to arrange pickup).
What it does
Our app's mvp aims to connect businesses, which is the customer segment that we identified as the ideal entry point, with homeless people (recyclers) that are active in that area. Businesses are onboarded via the web app (same as recyclers), submit pickup requests via app, and we notify recyclers via sms communication.
How we built it
Mvp is built with a combination of google forms and sms text tech. Webpage will also use python, flask, html, css, javascript, tailwind, flowbite
Challenges we ran into
There were many assumptions that needed validating, such as, how comfortable would businesses be with homeless people picking up their recyclable waste, despite it being free. Do homeless people tend to have smart phones or at least phones with sms capabilities? Are there any regulatory hurdles with recyclable waste? All technology challenges came from the extent of accessibility to phones, by the homeless population.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Onboarding our first businesses in the Santa Monica area for pilot test as well as signing up our first recyclers.
What we learned
So far we have learned how nuanced recycling is, especially, when it comes to businesses. There aren't too many or too stringent regulations on businesses and recyclable waste so how they manage their waste disposal differs greatly from business to business.
What's next for Recycling Team
There are three areas that we have identified that we can focus on for growth; 1) developing the technology for automation purposes, 2) addressing the other two customer segments - city partnerships & residential users (we are currently focusing on private businesses), and 3) developing a business model to monetize Business Waste Pickup services (currently free)
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