The KOLEKT waste management app, developed by Circular Action, a BVRio group company, has reached 10 thousand transactions. In the 18 months since the app was launched, it has gained over 1000 users in 48 countries. They are actors throughout the recycling supply chain, including informal waste pickers, who assisted in its design and have been testing it in real-world environments.
To date, over 7000 tonnes of recyclables, averaging 700 kg per transaction, have been traded through KOLEKT.
The app roll-out has been focused mainly on four countries, Brazil, Vietnam, Mozambique, and Angola, in four very different situations where Circular Action has been honing and testing KOLEKT in the field. Additionally, people working in waste management in other countries, including India, Indonesia, Jordan, and Mexico, have also been downloading the app, which works in the local languages.
“KOLEKT is now fully embedded in several projects and is proving popular with users throughout the recycling chain. Thierry Sanders, Circular Action Director and app developer.
The 10,000th transaction was made in Brazil by the fishers of Guanabara Bay, who are funded by Italian social enterprise, Ogyre, to spend two days a week ‘fishing for litter’ rather than fish.
Coordinator and fisher Ronaldo, spoke about their experience using the app, “KOLEKT has made us very comfortable using it because everything is clearly explained. What’s recyclable waste, hospital waste, construction waste, foam, slippers, everything. It's helped us a lot. Congratulations on reaching this milestone.”
Samuel, another fisher and user of the app also commented, ''Thank goodness we have been working here with the KOLEKT app, it has been very good, it registers everything beautifully and accurately, nobody here has anything to complain about, we love working with it.”
“What we are most proud of, is that KOLEKT is working well for informal collectors that have a simple feature phone or even no phone at all. This allows them to receive bonus points, trade, and log in to cash out their points using face recognition with the app installed on someone else’s smartphone. “We need to make technology work for the poor because they asked us to, and the waste pickers in Indonesia helped us design it.” Reflects Thierry Sanders, Circular Action Director and app developer.
New features recently added:
- Organisation-focused reports allow buyers to see who their suppliers are, where the materials come from, what their average buying price is, and which employees are buying most and at which price.
- Multiple materials can now be added per transaction, saving the time needed to confirm a transaction.
- New user types such as waste collection companies and landfill sites.
- Paid collection service transactions for providers offering a segregated waste pick-up service.
- Stock control allows users to check their stock levels in the app of 10 different materials and correct them to reflect their real stock.