NoWa+Breath

NoWa+Breath is an environmental initiative which aims to reduce wastes by leveraging technological and tangible services to recycle and segregate them.

Today, there are over 200 trillion kilograms of waste which are not recycled and end up in landfills around the world. These wastes often reach landfills and are often burned. This burning is a primary cause of the hazardous pollution which occurs in Delhi every year- the pollution levels reach 500 pm2.5. 

The world produces more than 2 billion tonnes of solid trash annually. Even though most of this garbage can be be recycled, only 20% of it is recycled in the India. Additionally, only around 6% of food and other organic waste gets composted in India, and only 9% of plastic is recycled globally. According to World Bank data, Solid waste–related emissions are anticipated to increase to 2.38 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year by 2050 if no improvements are made in the sector.

Despite significant financial commitment, attempts to inform the public about proper trash disposal have so far had only fair results. What can be recycled or composted frequently causes confusion in people. Waste containers are frequently surrounded with signs and boards that are hard to see and frequently leave important information out. Furthermore, trash disposal regulations are susceptible to change on a county-by-county basis since it depends on the capacity of the nearby recycling facilities.

Waste management mistakes result in not only  lost possibilities for recycling and composting but can contaminate recycling and compost containers. A single mistake that causes contamination frequently results in an entire bin ending up at a landfill. According to data from the National Garbage and Recycling Association, human error in the proper identification and placement of waste into our waste bins causes contamination of over 25% of recyclables, diverting recyclable materials into our landfill. Recycling or compostable waste that is disposed off in a landfill emits methane, a greenhouse gas that is many times more powerful than carbon dioxide in causing global warming. It is evident through the above data that the methods used to spread awareness in the public currently are not very effective.

There are a range of factors which are at the root of this issue: primary factors include lack of waste segregation and absence of awareness on the same. 

Usage of simple procedures such as categorising wastes as recyclable or organic, composting, and recycling can greatly reduce the figures provided above. Thus, awareness on these practices, practical information on these, as well as services to perform these processes, is required today. 

It is to combat these above factors that NoWa+Breath has been launched.

NoWa+Breath consists of 2 components: NoWa and Breath, providing online and offline services respectively.

NoWa is a mobile application available to download on both the play store and App Store. Users need to simply click and check how the products they use impact the environment.

This application helps users know whether the objects they use are biodegradable or not. Users need to simply point their camera and check how harmful is the product is for the environment. This application aims to make users conscious of all the items that are fatal for the environment health. It will help users segregate the biodegradable products from non biodegradable ones. 

The application also contains information pages which are step-by-step guides on processes such as recycling and composting, which aim to increase awareness on such processes.

NoWa is available for both Android and iOS- the iOS application uses advanced AV technologies which provide instantaneous classification, that is, the users do not need to upload images but just point their camera towards the object. 

Breath, on the other hand, partners with localities/municipal corporations and collects wastes from it. Breath transports these wastes to certified recycling centres and NGOs and verifies that they recycled. Users can contribute to Breath in 2 ways: by putting wastes in the bins we set up or by our home collection service. 

Both NoWa and Breath are made to work hand-in-hand: users can use NoWa to understand which waste of theirs is non-biodegradable or recyclable, and can continue provide such wastes to Breath for recycling.

NoWa is aimed to anyone who is not aware of the impact the objects they use have on the environment, or are unaware of how to carry out various processes such as composting and recycling, or anyone who wants to help the environment. 

The NoWa app is meant to be used whenever unsure about waste classification: for example, the app can downloaded on devices which are then attached to bins. Whenever a user is unsure of the classification of an object, he/she can simply point the camera towards the object and receive instant classification. 

Breath can be used by anyone living in the localities we partner with- all the user need to do is throw their wastes into a bin. In addition to these, Breath plans to provide house pickups, so that people living in any localities of the areas we cover can be helped. 

Having an interest in helping the environment since a long time, I have been intrigued in nature conservation since a long time. From participating in various environment drives to participating in nation-wide environment quizzes, I have tried to help the environment in any form I can. In addition, I have been a wildlife photographer who clicks pictures with the aim of spreading awareness on the conservation of wildlife since the last 4 years. 

-> To understand this problem in detail, I looked through a range of sources varying from articles to videos.

-> I performed data exploration using programming techniques for understanding the types of wastes present.

-> I also visited landfill sites in Delhi to understand the types of waste present there, and asked the local workers what proportion of this waste could have been recycled.

These experiences showed me that majority of the waste was plastic and could actually be understood and recycled- which is why I decided to create a solution for recycling these plastics.

For testing purposes, the NoWa app QR code has been added to bins in Gurgaon in association with the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation. After data is collected and refinements are made to the app based on these tests, the app will be implemented on the national level though the Ministry of Urban Affairs, implementation of which has already been setup. 

There is a widespread confusion among the layman of which waste classifies as what. Considering the unavailability of an easy-to- use waste classifier which is internationally and freely available, the solution is probably the first of its kind. The app consists of a minimalistic, east-to-use interface with instantaneous classification of an object as biodegradable or not: this instantaneous prediction can have far reaching impacts. For example, attaching such an application near public bins can help improve waste segregation manifold.

Moreover, most waste collected eventually ends up in dustbins and there is almost no organisation which wants to interfere with the working of various localities. Therefore, we launched Breath the ensure that all dry waste is properly recycled.

The primary goals of NoWa include obtaining more users and to spread the impact the app has on the environment. 

NoWa and Breath also aims to be partnered with various NGOs and other organisations working in the field of waste management, especially those which offer recycling services.

The primary goal of Breath is to spread across more localities across Delhi and perhaps across India. 

The NoWa app uses modern deep learning models to power its waste classification systems- I used a Keras Sequential model with custom layers, properties and actions to create a model with a 0.95 accuracy, trained on 22,000 images. 

The NoWa app is available for both iOS and Android. The iOS app uses real-time detection to classify objects, using the AV classes available in Swift.

The solution currently serves 1050 people (50 by NoWa and around 1000 Breath).

We aim to serve over 10,000 people by the next year, reaching more people through NoWa and setting up in more localities with Breath.

The lack of a high budget in making the app has resulted in an even lower budget for marketing the app, which makes it more difficult to obtain more users on the app.

- Gurgaon Municipal Corporation: we are partnering with the municipal corporation to add QR codes to download NoWa next to every bin in the city. After testing is done to test the efficacy and refinements are made in app based on the same, the app will be implemented in bins across India, through partnership with the Ministry of Urban Affairs. 

- Vatika City: A locality of 10,000 residents in which Breath is being implemented.

-Palms Country Club: placing NoWa QR codes throughout the club to aid in waste segregation. 

-Saahas Zero Waste: A NGO working towards recycling. We partner this NGO with Breath to aid in our recycling process.

NoWa+Breath aims to receive funds from social-grants awarded to solutions helping the community as well as crowdfunding. We do not charge any money whatsoever from users of the application due to the fact that the aim of making the app was helping the community. 

Considering the fact that the cost for building the app was considerably low, we aim to receive money solely from grants, awards and crowd-funding to sustain our initiatives.