RECICLOS: providing incentives for recycling cans and plastic beverage bottles

RECICLOS
Type of organisation or company
Country
Spain
City
Girona
Language for original content
Key Area
Project elaborated in partnership
Yes
Start/End date
Ongoing
Yes
Type of funding
Non-profit organization
Denisa Gibovic
Description

RECICLOS provides incentives for recycling cans and plastic beverage bottles. Its main objective is to increase and improve recycling of these objects by introducing rewards that motivate people to do so. When people recycle using the RECICLOS app, they receive points that can be exchanged for sustainable prizes or used for local projects.

Blue Room Innovation has co-created the RECICLOS project with Ecoembes, a non-profit association that manages the recycling of plastic containers, cans, tetrabriks, paper and cardboard in Spain. Blue Room Innovation is also the project's technological, communication and innovation partner, and is an active part in its transformation year after year.

The project started in 2019 with the first pilot scheme in the Pla de l'Estany region (Girona). The first app prototype and an incentives strategy were created and a communication campaign developed. The project has now expanded to cover more than 60 municipalities. In 2021, Blue Room Innovation continued to develop RECICLOS and came up with ways to improve app take-up, including new prize dynamics and functional changes.

In 2022, they aim to establish a platform connecting up municipal actors and the plastic waste transformation process to show what happens to packaging.

Identified challenge (s)
Main results
  • Over the past four years, RECICLOS has expanded to cover more than 60 municipalities in Spain, reaching 3.5 million people.
  • There are also more than 130 RECICLOS machines installed in train stations, malls and markets.
  • In 2022, RECICLOS is starting to be connected to smart containers and door-to-door systems. These applications are a big step towards rolling out RECICLOS in all regions and across all collection models.
  • Finally, data show that RECICLOS increases the amount of plastic collected.