Can the future of waste management be digital? Ecoplast Innov may have the answer.
The CITIZED application is a modernised waste collection and sorting tool developed by the company Ecoplast Innov, which is based in Côte d'Ivoire. Co-founded by Edith Kouassi, Ecoplast Innov heeded FNF Africa's invitation to innovators, creatives and entrepreneurs on World Creativity and Innovation Day 2021 for solutions established by their project in order to stay afloat or rethink their business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their mobile application makes it possible to optimise the logistics chain by more easily mobilising plastic and pneumatic waste, monitoring collection and selective sorting processes.
Faced with lockdowns and other constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic, "the CITIZED mobile application is the first application in Côte d'Ivoire that will allow companies and households to follow the process of managing their waste, from collection to manufactured product" says the co-founder. The CITIZED App contains several sections:
- The “Collection” tab, which collects information on the quantity and types of waste, but above all their geographical origins with a real-time geolocation.
- The “Training” tab, which offers a classification of waste to users with an interest in engaging in eco-citizenship.
- The “Statistics” tab, which collects and makes statistical data available to the general public (households) and decision-makers in order to facilitate decision-making and anticipation.
- The “Our Products” tab, which is a catalog allowing the user to view and purchase products the company offers through the application.
Ecoplast Innov is currently planning to put their application online for free download via PlayStore.
On World Innovation and Creativity Day, 21 April 2021, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Sub-Saharan Africa invited entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives across the region to submit the most innovative solutions they have made that have helped their initiatives, start ups, businesses re-establish or survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. This forms part of the FNF 2021 global campaign titled RE:START21
We ask, what can we learn from the pandemic? Let's talk new ideas! #Restart21
A screenshot of one of the interfaces of the the CITIZED APP
