Google.org Fellowship + Funding (SWEDEN)
Bower
Incentivising public participation in recycling through an AI-powered waste collection mobile app that rewards users for accurately sorting trash
Not only is the production of single-use packaging extremely resource-intensive, but only around 49% of plastic in the EU is properly recycled, leading to an excess of mismanaged waste.
Bower is a mobile app that, leveraging gamification, aims to create engagement and help more people recycle by offering incentives to recycle different types of consumer packaging.
With the help of Google.org Fellows and funding, Bower will develop an AI-powered solution to its existing app that will enable users to scan, identify and better understand their trash - including its packaging, material composition and size - and get rewarded for sorting and recycling the waste correctly. The AI solution will be launched in ten markets and developed as open source, meaning the wider ecosystem can leverage it in their work.
According to Bower, the organization aspires to save approximately 500K metric tons of CO2 equivalents annually by nurturing a culture of sustainable behaviors and recycling practices.
