🌱 RePlas - Decentralized Plastic Waste Management Platform

Transforming plastic waste into digital rewards through blockchain technology

Inspiration

Growing up in Nigeria, our team saw children playing near piles of discarded bottles and families burning plastic to get rid of it. The toxic fumes and the visual blight were just one side of the problem. The deeper issue was a lack of ownership and accountability. No system rewarded people for disposing of plastic responsibly, and no universal standard existed for tracking waste. This lived experience inspired us to ask a simple question. What if a plastic bottle could tell its own story, be tracked, valued, and rewarded instead of poisoning our communities and oceans?

🌍 Overview

RePlas is a revolutionary decentralized platform that incentivizes plastic waste recycling through blockchain technology. Built on the Celo network, it creates a transparent, traceable, and rewarding ecosystem for plastic waste management across Africa and beyond. The platform combines artificial intelligence, blockchain, and gamification to ensure recycling is not just a duty but a rewarding and engaging experience. By aligning incentives across citizens, recyclers, producers, and policymakers, RePlas establishes a true circular economy for plastic.

🎯 Mission

Our mission is to create a sustainable circular economy for plastic waste by connecting all stakeholders through blockchain-verified transactions and AI-powered verification systems. We aim to empower communities, improve climate education, and foster measurable environmental impact.

🔍 Problem Statement

Plastic pollution is one of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges. Every year, over 8 million tons of plastic waste flow into our oceans, destroying ecosystems and contributing to climate change. Shockingly, 91% of global plastic waste is never recycled. Current recycling systems are inefficient, opaque, and fail to engage individuals meaningfully. Supply chains lack transparency, producers rarely track the lifecycle of plastics, and policymakers do not have access to reliable, real-time data. Without transparency and accountability, climate education efforts lack practical tools that connect awareness to action.

💡 Solution

RePlas provides an innovative solution by:

Tokenizing recycling efforts with blockchain-based RePlas Tokens that reward responsible action.
Using AI-powered verification to analyze and classify plastic submissions instantly.
Enabling full traceability of plastics from production to recycling via blockchain and QR codes.
Delivering gamified and community-driven experiences like leaderboards, impact dashboards, and eco-challenges.
Offering real-time analytics and insights for recyclers, producers, and policymakers to optimize waste management.

By decentralizing recycling incentives, RePlas builds a transparent ecosystem where every piece of plastic is accounted for, verified, and transformed into measurable impact.

✨ Features

Token Rewards: Users earn RePlas tokens for verified recycling submissions.
AI Verification: Powered by Google Gemini, the system identifies and validates plastics with high accuracy.
QR Code Tracking: Producers assign QR codes to plastics for lifecycle traceability.
Impact Analytics: Real-time dashboards for individuals, communities, and organizations.
Marketplace: Redeem tokens for eco-friendly products and services.
Gamified Engagement: Leaderboards, challenges, and educational nudges.
Community Integration: Social features that encourage collective impact.

User Roles

Consumers: Submit plastic waste, earn rewards, track environmental impact, and participate in challenges.
Producers: Generate QR codes, track lifecycle data, comply with sustainability regulations.
Recyclers: Verify and process plastics, increase efficiency with pre-sorted waste, and earn processing rewards.
Policymakers and NGOs: Access tamper-proof data to design, monitor, and enforce effective waste policies.

🛠 Technology Stack

Frontend: Next.js 14, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, Three.js for 3D visuals, Framer Motion animations.
Backend: Node.js with Express.js, MongoDB (Mongoose), JWT authentication, AWS S3 storage, Swagger/OpenAPI docs.
Blockchain: Celo network, Solidity smart contracts, ERC-20 token (RePlas Token), ERC-721 NFTs (Impact Certificates).
AI & ML: Google Gemini 2.5 Pro for computer vision plastic classification, conversational AI for user education, analytics for waste trends.
Deployment: Vercel for frontend, Railway and AWS EC2 for backend, MongoDB Atlas for database, Cloudflare CDN, and Sentry monitoring.

🏗 Architecture

RePlas uses a modular microservices-based architecture:

Frontend Application: Responsive mobile-first web interface.
Backend Services: APIs for users, submissions, rewards, and analytics.
Blockchain Layer: Smart contracts handle token distribution, traceability, and impact certification.
AI Layer: Gemini-powered recognition and analysis services, designed as independent microservices for scalability.
Data Layer: MongoDB Atlas stores structured data, AWS S3 manages media files.
Scalability Features: Redis caching for quick lookups, RabbitMQ/Kafka queues for asynchronous AI processing, load-balanced microservices for high availability.

🚀 Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/replas/RePlas.git
cd RePlas
npm install --legacy-peer-deps
npm run dev

Access the platform at http://localhost:3000.

🔧 Environment Variables

Key variables:

Database: MONGODB_URI
Authentication: JWT_SECRET
Blockchain: CELO_PROVIDER_URL, ADMIN_PRIVATE_KEY, contract addresses
AI: GEMINI_API_KEY

📜 Smart Contract Deployment

Contracts are deployed using Hardhat to Celo Alfajores and Mainnet:

ERC-20: RePlas Token contract for rewards.
ERC-721: Impact Certificates to verify contributions.
Traceability Contracts: Ensure lifecycle tracking of plastics.

📚 API Overview

Authentication: Register, login, refresh, and profile management.
Plastic Submissions: Submit, update, and verify recycling events.
Rewards: Token distribution, balance checks, redemption.
QR Codes: Generate, resolve, and batch-generate product QR codes.
AI Services: Image analysis, chat assistance, and impact summaries.

🎨 Frontend Components

Wallet Integration: Celo wallet support.
Plastic Submission Form: Guided submission with AI validation.
QR Scanner: Built-in camera functionality.
Impact Metrics Dashboard: Tracks contributions and sustainability impact.
3D Visualizations: Immersive displays of recycling data.

💡 Usage Scenarios

Consumers: Submit plastics, earn tokens, track progress, and redeem rewards.
Producers: Monitor lifecycle data, verify recycling, meet compliance.
Recyclers: Manage operations with pre-verified materials.
Policymakers: Access real-time impact data for decision-making.

🌱 Impact

RePlas creates value for:

Individuals: Direct rewards encourage consistent behavior.
Communities: Collective action fosters education and awareness.
Recyclers: Higher efficiency and verified material streams.
Producers: Transparent compliance reporting.
Governments/NGOs: Access to real-time, tamper-proof environmental data.

Measurable impact includes increased recycling rates, reduced plastic waste, behavioral change, and enhanced climate education through actionable data.

🔒 Security

Regular smart contract audits.
Role-based access control.
Data encryption in transit and at rest.
API rate limiting and monitoring.
Continuous vulnerability scanning.

📈 Roadmap

Phase 1: MVP with AI verification, rewards, and QR tracking.
Phase 2: Mobile app, multilingual support, analytics dashboard.
Phase 3: Cross-chain expansion, carbon credit marketplace, enterprise partnerships.
Phase 4: Global scale with governments, NGOs, and educational programs.