Have you ever wondered what traceability is and how it plays a leading role in processes that are moving towards social and environmental sustainability? ReciVeci is an Ecuadorian startup that has set out to place sustainability on the table as a priority for individuals and companies.
In recent times, it has become important to know each of the life stages of a product —from its origin to its end—, since this allows us to understand if there is the possibility of establishing greater efficiency in productivity, avoiding possible negative impacts on the environment, promoting sustainability and ensuring the minimum possible impact on the environment. In this sense, traceability plays an important role, because it reveals the complete history of a product and its quality. This concept is applicable to several productive fields: agriculture, technology, food, and of course recycling.
But understanding traceability as a concept is not enough: to put it into practice, you have to be consistent with a series of actions, and that is what ReciVecI has achieved. The Ecuadorian startup has created an entire system for waste management, understanding basic recyclers (people who are dedicated to the recovery and sale of recyclable materials in the solid waste stream, normally working under precarious and unsafe conditions) as a Core of the system, valuing their work and taking technology as an ally to connect all the actors in the chain with a clear purpose: to make waste management a real and effective process that reaches every corner of the country.
In addition, ReciVecI has made the ReciApp available: the first technological, innovative and social recycling tool in Ecuador, which allows citizens and companies to learn to recycle properly in a simple way from the mobile phone, connecting directly with basic recyclers and recyclers.
In addition, management is based on Recircular, a platform that is constantly updated and generates data on the receipt of material from generator points (collection centers), receipt of material from collectors and displays lists of transactions pending in the recycling process.
Traceability allows us to make intelligent decisions to avoid or reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, conserve natural resources such as water, soil and minerals, reduce energy use in the production of raw materials and even to reduce pollution.
Currently, ReciVeci has more than 10,000 users in 11 provinces of Ecuador, 30,000 citizens have been sensitized to recycling processes and there is a mapping of more than 700 recyclers. Recycling with ReciVeci means caring for the environment and, in addition, guaranteeing fair working conditions for all actors in the waste management chain. On the other hand, several companies (national and multinational) have joined ReciVeci in order to encourage adequate waste management in the communities in which they impact, motivating recycling as an action not only of responsibility but of true social and corporate awareness.
The end of the traceability process varies depending on the material, for example; for steel and aluminum, which are 100% recyclable, meaning that they can be recycled countless times without losing their properties, it ends when they enter the foundry. In the case of plastic: cheap, durable, easy to handle, adaptable and complex waste, its traceability contributes to improving environmental sustainability, since undoubtedly, recycling plastic is a challenging process.
Working on actions that promote and encourage recycling counteracts climate change, promotes the circular economy — whose main objective is to grow economically without deteriorating the environment and its natural resources — and leaves a favorable mark on social, environmental and economic development.
