Wastebase - Crowd Monitoring of Plastic Waste

Mozambique: Maputo, Matola. Tanzania: Dar-es-Salaam, Bagamoyo, MozambiqueUnwaste.io Ltd

$365 per month

 

Fundraising ended on Oct 21, 2023

About This Project

Welcome to our crowdfunding site. You'll find out about the problem we're trying to solve, and how you can help. If you'd like to support us, click 'Support this project' at the top of the page.

The plastic problem

Credit: @JamesWakibia

Africa’s waterways are clogged with plastic waste. This photo was taken by Kenyan activist and photojournalist, James Wakibia. It shows the Njoro River, which flows from the Mau Forest, through residential areas and into Lake Nakuru, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Except you can barely see the river.

Sadly, this is a common sight in many countries in Africa.

80% of ocean plastic comes from land based sources.

It’s very easy for discarded, single use bottles to end up in a waterway, such as the mangroves or rivers that support many coastal towns and cities. Once plastic enters the ocean, it’s incredibly costly and difficult to clean up.

"In 2016, the world generated 242 million tonnes of plastic waste...[Plastic waste makes up] 12% of all municipal waste. Plastic waste is choking our oceans, yet our consumption of plastics is only increasing." World Bank*

1 person died every 30 seconds in developing countries because of diseases related to plastic and other poorly managed waste.

That’s up to 1 million deaths per year.**

Our solution

We use modern smartphone and cloud technology to make it easy to track, reuse and recycle plastic waste.

Our crowdsourced data platform, Wastebase, collects information from local clean ups and makes it easy to see where single use plastic ends up. This means that the companies that produce this plastic can be held to account. We believe that everyone, from producers to retailers to consumers, is responsible for what happens to the plastic they make, sell or consume.

We've collected data from over 40,000 discarded bottles since we launched.

How data can change the world

Here’s the simple version.

You might be someone who wants to do something about plastic waste in your community. You might join a clean up day, and spend a few hours picking up the many plastic bottles that people throw away every day. You might even recycle those bottles, or record what you’ve collected with photos or written records. You’ll have made a big difference to your local environment.

Now, imagine you could multiply that impact/difference. Imagine you could tell the world about which type of bottles you found and where. Imagine you could show the companies that made those bottles exactly where they ended up - under a bush, on a beach, in a river on their way to the sea.

That’s what we do.

We collect thousands of data points from clean ups across sub-Saharan Africa. Using our app, our local partners scan the barcodes of the bottles they collect. Information about that bottle is instantly uploaded to Wastebase.

Our data specialists then link each barcode to extra information about the bottle, such as brand, owner, plastic type, volume and weight. If anyone else scans the same product, they’ll be able to see who made that bottle, who sold it and information about how the bottle is made.

This means we can see ALL the products discarded by one company, even if they have different brands. For example, Coca Cola owns lots of brands, such as Fanta, Sprite and Schweppes. Wastebase adds all of these together to show Coca Cola how much their products are contributing to overall plastic pollution.

Wastebase Data page for the Coca-Cola brand

Shareable data about plastic waste

Anyone can use Wastebase to filter, visualise and extract information about where plastic ends up, and who needs to take responsibility. These charts show the proportion of plastic bottle waste found in Mozambique, by brand and by manufacturer.

Top ten brands contributing to single-use plastic bottle pollution in Mozambique

Top ten manufacturers contributing to single-use plastic bottle pollution in Mozambique

And this map shows you how many bottles we collected in one area in Tanzania. Using the map, you can zoom in to see which types and brands were found where.

Visualizing number of bottles detected and collected in a region of Africa


This graphic shows the country of manufacturer for bottles found near Lake Nakuru, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kenya. 38% of these bottles came from companies based in the United States.

Bottles found in Nakuru, Kenya by country of manufacturer

How all this makes a change

By supporting Wastebase, you can help us use this data to make big differences. Here are some examples:

At a local level (for example, in a city):

One of our partners, Repensar Environmental Cooperative, carries out regular clean ups in Maputo, Mozambique, a city famed for its sandy beaches. They collected data about the waste they picked up, then took it to the city’s municipal waste authority. By showing them where most of the waste collected (around local beauty spots), they convinced the waste authority to change the routes for their waste collection trucks, to prevent this waste from ending up in the city’s waterways.

At a national level:

Many countries in Africa face huge, systemic challenges with managing waste. These are often driven by rapid growth in consumerism alongside economic growth. Municipal authorities struggle to find effective ways to manage the sheer volume of waste produced. Working with partners at a country level, we can help municipal authorities to make more informed and sustainable decisions about how to collect and process waste.

At a global level:

Data is more powerful when there is lots of it. Wastebase connects data about plastic waste to make it more credible. People and organisations who want to reduce plastic waste can use our data to demonstrate the problem to industry and government decision-makers, and make a stronger case for change.

We won’t let plastic producers hide behind a lack of data. We’ll show them exactly where their products end up.

We believe in a circular economy for plastic.

Cleaning up the world’s plastic waste is an enormous challenge. But we can make it easier for the people who make, use and process plastic to adopt better practices so that waste can be collected and managed in a way that reduces harm to the environment. One day, all plastic could be continuously recycled and reused in an endless circle, rather than having a linear journey from factory to ocean waste.

What you can do

Sponsor a data package

By sponsoring a number of scans each month, you’ll help us clean up waste while collecting more data. For just $10, you can amplify data from a local clean up and help us change the way the world manages plastic waste.

Install our data tracking app on Google Play Store

Contact us for a log in, then you can scan single use plastic bottles wherever you are in the world. You could even organise your own clean up. You'll be able to see everything you've scanned on the Wastebase map.

Tell others about what we do

Read more about our approach. Keep up to date with our activity on Twitter and share our monthly reports about the biggest plastic polluters in each area.

We need your support. Our teams are ready to scan. Sponsor us today.

We're a social enterprise

That means that we put our profits into creating positive impact for people, places and the environment. We want to support the global movement to end plastic waste and reduce the harm that plastic waste does to our planet.

We are based in the UK, but our focus is on developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We work with environmental NGOs in countries where waste collects in coastal areas and waterways to the sea. Our Data Partners help us collect data about plastic waste through local collections and 'brand audits'.

Find out more about our partners here.

Currently, we have Data Partners in:

  • Malawi
  • Mozambique
  • Tanzania
  • Zambia

*What a waste: a global snapshot of solid waste to 2050 World Bank 2020

**No time to waste: the burning issue of the plastic crisis

Tearfund Consortium 2019

Use Of Funds

Your regular monthly donation will directly support the collection and recording of a specific number of bottles, as shown in the 'Rewards' section. Our system matches your monthly donations to specific data collections, so we can tell you exactly where your support is going.


What your donation is used for

Your donation is allocated as follows:

  • Wastebase Data Partner 50%*

The majority of your donation supports local collection and data enrichment. This is about 4 US cents per scan. It covers: direct costs to our NGO partners (such as transportation, mobile data, refreshments) as well as supplementary activities (such as research about products and brands, validation of data in the Wastebase portal, and communication with stakeholders).

  • Unwaste.io Ltd 25%*

Our company receives 2 US Cents per scan. This covers: platform hosting costs, data transfer costs, system maintenance and development, and training and support to partner NGOs.

  • Admin and transaction fees 25%*

This includes the StartSomeGood fee, payment processing (Stripe) fee, our bank's fee for receiving donations, fees for transferring funds to our partner NGOs, and currency conversion fees.

*approximate, based on a regular donation of $100 per month for 1250 scans

Questions & Answers

  • Q: Who collects the bottles?
  • A: Our Wastebase Data Partners, who are listed on our website. All of these partners are existing environmental organizations, based in a specific country. They are already active in the global Zero Waste/Circular Economy movement. They use a mix of core staff, part-time staff and occasional volunteers for collections. At least one core staff member is involved in supervising audit activities, and supervising data input to Wastebase.
  • Q: How can you be sure that the data is accurate?
  • A: All our Wastebase Data Partners receive training from Unwaste.io prior to signing a partnership agreement. Unwaste.io follows up on partner activities regularly and monitors data input via the Wastebase portal.
  • Q: What happens to waste bottles after they have been scanned?
  • A: Where possible, bottles are sold to a local plastic products manufacturer. However local demand from such manufacturers is often insufficient to absorb all bottles collected. Therefore, the majority is typically transferred into the Municipal Solid Waste collection system. In cases where the Wastebase Data Partner (WDP) team are able to hand over the waste to a professional Waste Picker, and be sure that the Waste Picker will monetise it, they will prefer this option.
  • Q: How do you identify bottles that have a damaged label?
  • A: We can use several methods to scan a damaged bottle. Usually, we can recognise a bottle by its shape, colour, size, specific mouldings or match it with other bottles that do have a label. You can see some of these explained here. After a few practice sessions, our WDP team members become very good at recognising bottles. Each country tends to have a range of only about 100 specific bottled products that contribute the majority of waste, so the teams get to know them quickly.
  • Q: what is the weight of the plastic collected with help from my sponsorship?
  • A:
    plastic bottle weights vary widely depending on size and shape, but a
    rule of thumb is that, on average, one bottle corresponds to 25
    grammes. This excludes the weight of the cap and seal, which are often
    separate from the bottle by the time our partners detect and collect it.
  • Q: How do you know which operations were sponsored by which donor?
  • A: The wastebase.org platform tracks each monthly donation and matches it to the specified quantity of operations. Each operation is matched to one and only one donation. We can provide a report of the data collections you sponsor, on request.
  • Q: Why does the donation cost per bottle reduce for larger monthly donations?
  • A: We transfer funds to our partner NGOs on a monthly basis, and bank transaction fees on these transfers contain a fixed portion and a variable portion. The fixed portion is significant on smaller transfers, so the ‘donation cost per bottle’ reflects this. Also, a larger donation typically allows our partner NGOs to organise waste audits and cleanups on a larger and more efficient basis.
  • Q: As a UK-based company why do you receive donations in US Dollars?
  • A: The countries where our partner NGOs operate tend to use the US Dollar as the primary currency of international banking and trade. It works out cheaper in terms of transaction fees to receive money and transfer it to them in US Dollars.


Latest News

Oct 23, 2023

We're moving to a new platform

Sadly, Start Some Good is no longer supporting recurring donations. This means we're asking all of our regular donors to move to our new home at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/wastebase. Thanks to everyone who has already made the switch. Your support has helped us achieve so much over the last 2 years. We've collected data from over 310,000 items of waste plastic in 24 countries, recruited and trained 7 Data Partners and continued to build a global database about where plastic waste ends up. Onwards and upwards!



Aug 05, 2023

Over 0.25 million scans!

We celebrated 2 years of Wastebase earlier this year. With your help, we've now collected data from over 278,000 plastic waste products. We've been adding new features to make it easier to scan waste - users can now choose from different plastic product types including bottles, cartons, pots and sachets. This helps us track common plastic types and build evidence about which types of packaging are found in the environment.



Nov 04, 2022

Supporting a fairer deal for waste pickers

We've recently launched our new Wastebase DEAL app. This is a simple smartphone app that allows people who collect waste for a living to get a better, fairer price for the waste they collect. Waste pickers are a key part of creating a circular economy for plastics and other materials in many countries where municipal waste management struggles to cope. By connecting waste pickers (sellers) with local plastic reprocessors (buyers), we can encourage the collection, purchase and reprocessing of waste plastic, reducing imports of virgin plastic resin and supporting a fairer local economy.

Read more in our case study of one waste picker working in Mozambique.


Meanwhile, our partners have gathered data from almost 220,000 single use plastic bottles, thanks to your support. That's around 5.5 tonnes of plastic removed from the environment. All of this data is available at wastebase.org. We're very pleased to be in discussion with several research partners about using our data to help inform better practice around plastic production and waste management.

Thanks again for your continued support.



Apr 18, 2022

You've helped us clear up almost 3.9 tonnes of plastic waste

Our supporters have helped us collect and scan 155,139 discarded single use plastic bottles since we launched in 2021. That's equivalent to approximately 3.87 tonnes of plastic waste that could have otherwise ended up in the ocean, private landfill or private burning. And all the data from those bottles - including where they were found, which brand they were and who owns that brand, is available for campaigners to use at wastebase.org.



Apr 08, 2022

Wastebase plastic monitoring officially adopted in Rwanda

In March, we were invited to launch Wastebase at the Global Green Growth (GGI) Rwanda conference in Kigali. Our data was used to support a project being run under the auspices of the Rwandan national Environmental Management Agency (REMA).



Feb 08, 2022

We've scanned over 100,000 bottles

With your support, our partners have now detected and scanned 102,293 discarded single use plastic bottles. That equivalent to approximately 2.56 tonnes of plastic waste. For every bottled scanned, we collect several data points. Our partners and other NGOs or companies involved in making, selling or managing plastic can use this data to inform better waste management and improved approaches to creating a circular economy for plastics.



Dec 08, 2021

Meet our super scanners

Every month, more people download the Wastebase app to collect and scan single use plastic in their area. We work with our partners to recruit and train volunteers to collect high quality data about where plastic waste ends up. We're pleased to say that 3 of our scanners have collected over 7,000 bottles EACH. The number one spot goes to a Mozambique-based activist who goes by the name of Jenmaca - they've scanned 8,640 bottles in and around Maputo, Mozambique. Check out our crowd at https://wastebase.org/#/crowd or download the app and join our leaderboard. All of this gives us more robust data to encourage more efficient management of plastic waste.



Nov 01, 2021

We're almost at 50,000 scans

With your support, our partners have collected and scanned over 48,000 plastic bottles. Every bottle they collect adds vital data to wastebase.org, meaning we can monitor the companies and brands responsible for plastic waste. Our new data dashboard lets you see a summary of our data including the number of bottles scanned, total product and brand records, and recent activity.



Aug 27, 2021

We passed 30,000 scans!

We passed 30,000 scans!

With your help, we’ve scanned over 30,104 bottles and delivered them to formal waste management. All of the data about those bottles is available to search and filter on Wastebase. During July, we added a feature to let you drill down to the details of an individual scan.

See our 30,000th scan on Wastebase



Rewards

Select Reward
Thank You
$5.00 per month

70 bottles will be collected and recorded in Wastebase.org for each monthly donation. Each scans not only helps remove plastic waste from the environment, but adds vital data to our Wastebase platform. Every bit of data you support can be used by a global network of people and organisations working to reduce plastic entering our oceans.

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Select Reward
Supporter 1: 150 scans
$10.00 per month

150 bottles will be collected and recorded in Wastebase.org for each monthly donation. Each scans not only helps remove plastic waste from the environment, but adds vital data to our Wastebase platform. Every bit of data you support can be used by a global network of people and organisations working to reduce plastic entering our oceans.

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Select Reward
Supporter 1+ : 225 scans
$15.00 per month

225 bottles will be collected and recorded in Wastebase.org for each monthly donation. Each scan not only helps remove plastic waste from the environment, but adds vital data to our Wastebase platform. Every bit of data you support can be used by a global network of people and organisations working to reduce plastic entering our oceans.

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Select Reward
Supporter 2: 400 scans
$25.00 per month

Our entry-level option for Corporate and NGO supporters. For $25 per month, our partners will collect and record 400 bottles in Wastebase.org. We'll include your organisation's logo on the Supporters page at unwaste.io and acknowledge your support through our social media. Each scan not only helps remove plastic waste from the environment, but adds vital data to our Wastebase platform. Every bit of data you support can be used by a global network of people and organisations working to reduce plastic entering our oceans. You can choose to increase your support once you've seen what we can do.

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Select Reward
Supporter 3: 800 scans
$50.00 per month

Become a Corporate Champion. For £50 per month, our partners will collect and record 800 bottles in Wastebase.org. We'll include your organisation's logo on the Supporters page at unwaste.io and acknowledge your support through dedicated posts and updates on our social media. Each scan not only helps remove plastic waste from the environment, but adds vital data to our Wastebase platform. Every bit of data you support can be used by a global network of people and organisations working to reduce plastic entering our oceans.

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Select Reward
Supporter 4: 1600 scans
$100.00 per month

Our highest level of support, for companies who want to make a statement about their commitment to reducing plastic waste. For $100 per month, our partners will collect and record 1600 bottles in Wastebase.org. We'll offer you an introductory meeting with our team and options for training your staff to use Wastebase for a company clean up day. With a dedicated scan count for your team, you'll can share data about what you've collected. We'll include your organisation's name on the Supporters page at unwaste.io and acknowledge your support through a dedicated press release and our social media. Your scans not only help to remove plastic waste from the environment, but add vital data to our Wastebase platform. Every bit of data you support can be used by a global network of people and organisations working to reduce plastic entering our oceans.

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