Here's our proposal for the 2019 Ethereum Hackathon, wish us luck:
The Problem
The world is choking on garbage that would get recycled if there were proper incentives in place. China has stopped taking garbage from the US who doesn't have a national recycling program in place.
The Solution - DeCycle
To create a recycling standard powered by Ethereum - DeCycle. You can think of it like a 5 cent bottle deposit but better.
Governments, non-profits, and really anyone can create incentive by mining or buying DCL. Once created, DCL is then bought by corporations that have recyclable products. It is represented with a compact bar code and a printed value (the number of DCL that bar code will redeem).
on a small scale individuals could become their own recycling centers by accepting DCL coded items or collecting them themselves. All that would be needed would be a cellphone and the DeCycle app.
The DeCycle App
The App uses someone's smart phone to scan mini QR codes and verify items on the DeCycle blockchain.
Incentives
Unlike current systems, DCL value is tied directly to benefit: The more harm a material or item does the the environment the more DCL it is worth.
Large redemption centers could be easily retrofitted and new businesses would startup to recycle items we haven’t recycled to-date. When someone drops off their recyclables they are paid out in fiat, making it easy for the poor who may not have cel phones to participate.
Each contributor to the eco-system get’s their percentage payout of DCL (or fiat) only after their job is completed and verified.
