Innovations Item Code: IN-2024-2100311
Sector: Environmental sustainability/Circular economy
Description:
Our platform, Buyscap Nigeria (www.buyscrap.com.ng), is an online marketplace where Lagos users can schedule pickup of recyclables and also post waste that can be purchased by recycling companies or users in need of it. Our service includes sorting this waste for households and businesses and calculating the price to be paid to the seller. Users provide clear pictures of the waste they want to sell, including the type of waste and weight, and it can be posted on the marketplace to be bought by businesses, or we pick up and pay for the waste.
Our platform helps match verified buyers and sellers using route optimization. They can view the type of waste, location, quantity, and time it was posted. This solves the challenges of logistics in the waste management sector, as a seller in Oshodi can easily sell to a local recycling company in or around Oshodi instead of going as far as Ajah.
Stage of Innovation: Prototype (You have a working physical product)
Problem:
The major problem we identified is the issue of logistics when it comes to waste collection. The waste is available in abundance, but how to connect it with recycling companies is a challenge. There are different types of waste, and not all companies recycle them. We want to create an efficient collection process when it comes to waste. In the process, we also educate households and businesses on the sorting of waste and other types of waste they never knew could be recycled, upcycled, repurposed, or repaired for use. We also aim to reduce waste that might end up in areas and landfills because of improper disposal. This is how we are collaboratively diverting waste and promoting a more sustainable future.
Unique Selling Point: The Buyscrap platform is using an innovative solution, which is a new approach to waste collection and recycling. This is different because we are helping to connect waste aggregators to local recycling companies. Also, waste pickers are connected to waste aggregators. This ensures both the informal and formal sector of waste benefit and the collection process flows positively without any challenge. WWe help in matching waste producers with companies that can recycle, reuse, or repurpose these materials into new products with a better value for their waste. We had a customer who said he never knew people buy old newspapers until we bought from him. So our online platforms provide customers with clear details about the different types of waste and ensure a transparent transaction. We also post our price per kilogram on the platform so users can calculate the value of waste on the platform, just like how dollar and naira prices are posted. Our service, through an education campaign to customers about sorting, allows our partners and recycling companies to get quality waste that is not mixed, so they get a higher cost, and it also saves the recycling company money because they don't need to treat the waste.