Envi App finds a way for your waste

Efficient waste collection is made easy now more than ever.

In three easy steps, anyone can help save the environment. First, a person segregates and disposes their trash. Next, a photo of trash is taken. Lastly, he or she will book an eco-aide.

With minimal effort, Filipinos could request their trash to be picked up by garbage collectors using Wayste PH, a service-collection mobile application developed to address inefficient waste collection in the Philippines.

In Metro Manila alone, about 9,000 tons per day of wastes are generated as stated in a 2017 report by the Senate Economic Planning Office. Also, according to a 2018 report by the World Bank, it is expected that 3.4 billion metric tons of global waste will be produced by 2050 if there's no urgent action on the waste crisis. As of 2018, over 2 billion tons of waste are generated.

Indeed, this sounds alarming which encouraged two engineers, a software developer, and a graphic designer to launch the application.

Wayste PH was founded in 2017 by Rage Gonzales and Prince Javier who are both graduates of the University of the Philippines Diliman and the Asian Institute of Management. In August this year, Software Developer Jadurani Davalos and Graphic Designer Bea Trishtan joined the team and together they launched the environmental digital platform on September 30.

“Establishing Wayste was never an out-of-the blue project. It was inspired by a series of experiences that made me venture in this enviro-social tech enterprise that attempts to solve one of the world’s most wicked problems of all time. This is [a] lifetime advocacy,“ said Gonzales.

While the hope to address climate change became their advocacy, Gonzales, who was exposed to the waste management system and saw the treatment to janitors, seeks to improve the lives of other related sectors in the society, as well.

In Wayste PH, garbage scavengers and collectors are considered as professional “Eco-aides”. Just like “Grab” delivery men, they will be provided with smartphones to communicate with waste haulers from a barangay they are designated to.

Once the Barangay Eco-aide collects the garbage from a waste hauler, it will be transported to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). Meanwhile, organic wastes can be converted to gas to produce energy for fuel or electricity.

On the flip side, Wayste PH would directly benefit households for an efficient way of disposing recyclable materials such as bottles, cartons, paper and scrap metals. No waste will be discarded too where “more types of wastes can be collected such as kitchen wastes and bulk solid wastes like old refrigerators, bed mattresses, car tires, and such stuff that current collectors do not touch.” said Gonzales.

As consumption culture and urbanization arises, the next generation must be aware about the impact of the increasing waste to the future’s environment.

“Hopefully, everyone, especially the youth, who hears our story would also want to create their own startups in pursuit of impact. It’s better to have more startups attempting to solve the waste management problem than none at all. Para sa Bayan!” said Gonzales.