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Innovative comprehensive waste collection and recycling system

5_EcoTechSystem_recyklomat_projekt_badawczy_NCBR

square with tentacles  Project title

Innovative comprehensive waste collection and recycling system

outline of the upper man silhouette  Name of Beneficiary/Beneficiaries

EcoTech System – leader of the consortium

MWS – member of the consortium

Instytut gospodarki surowcami mineralnymi i energią polskiej akademii nauk (mineral and energy economy research institute of the polish academy of sciences) – member of the consortium

briefcase icon  Name of programme

“Smart Growth” Operational Program

newspaper icon  Competition

Fast path

two heaps of coins icon  Project value

PLN 11 351 081.54

hand icon with two circles above it  Funding value

PLN 6 253 870.13

clock icon  Project delivery period

from 01/02/2021 until 30/11/2022

Get to know our team

Łukasz Waksmundzki – Project Manager, Co-Founder EcoTech System

Have a look at the outcome of our work

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What problem does our project solve?

The innovative Comprehensive Collection and Recycling System is a holistic solution for modern deposit systems, support of Extended Producer Responsibility and the Single-Use-Plastic Directive as well as implementation of the rules of the Circular Economy. The essence of the research project is the creation of a comprehensive infrastructure including a central platform for registering transactions of packaging waste segregation using a network of recyclers and mobile terminals as a part of precursor discipline - Internet of Waste.

Thanks to the ECO WALLET mobile application - for segregated waste, users collect the pioneering ECO-COIN ecological currency, which can then be exchanged for rewards, reductions and discounts at the partners supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As the project progresses, the ECO-COIN eco-currency can become a transferable unit that is backed by the collected recyclables and can thus provide an innovative system for accounting for the refundable deposit system and Extended Producer Responsibility.

The developed technology meets all national and EU requirements and, in addition, is ahead of current market expectations. The solution is ready to handle hybrid deposit systems comprising a network of recyclers from various producers, as well as the so-called over-the-counter service using mobile terminals in the smaller retail outlets and collection points, without the need to install costly automatic sorting machines.  

The overarching objective of the developed technology is to provide an efficient and socially-oriented way of segregating waste 'at the source', to eco-educate residents, to optimise the waste and recycling market and to support all activities aimed at protecting the environment and natural resources for future generations.

Who will benefit from the outcomes of the project?

The objective of the project is to implement a modern waste segregation and recycling system based on the Internet of Waste and ECO-COIN to support government administration, the FMCG industry, the waste management sector and the recycling industry. Thanks to the 4 x WIN strategy, the outcomes of the project benefit all participants in the Circular Economy: inhabitants - local authorities - recycling industry - business.
The main benefits for the 4 groups of users include:
· inhabitants - motivation for segregation, conversion of waste into financial benefits (rewards, reductions, discounts)
· local self-governments (state) - achieving high levels of recovery and recycling, supporting implementation of the EU directives on deposit system, Extended Producer Responsibility and Single-Use, Plastic,
· recycling industry - obtaining clean secondary raw materials from primary segregation, protection of natural resources,
· business - large loyalty system founded on environmental protection and modern segregation, support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

What was the most challenging aspect of the implementation of the project for us?

The greatest challenge proved to be the implementation under conditions that could not have been foreseen at the time of the co-financing application. Circumstances that significantly affected project implementation were as follows:

  1. The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences:
    • disrupted electronics supply chains from the Far East
    • increase in electronics prices (element of recyclers)
    • increase in steel prices (element of recyclers)
    • project implementation in remote working conditions
    • increase in remunerations in the IT industry.
  2. The war in Ukraine and its consequences:
    • increased inflation
    • remuneration pressures
    • putting in the shade issues related to waste management and the use of new technologies to optimise it (deposit system, system of Extended Producer Responsibility, Single-Use Plastic).

Our advice to other Applicants

  1. Implementation of the project in compliance with the contract and co-financing application.
  2. Current / operational cooperation and consultation with the project supervisor on the NCRD part.
  3. Responding to emergency situations affecting project implementation (in this case the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine).
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