TechSrc

Inspiration ♻️

The Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report found that the world dumped a record 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste last year, categorized as unwanted electronics such as computers, phones, and printers. Around 80-85% of the electronic products were discarded into landfills or incinerators, directly contributing to climate change because of the chemicals that are released. Electronics contain materials like Copper (Cu), Aluminum (Al), and Iron (Fe) - when burned these metals accumulate in the atmosphere, ultimately increasing pollution.

Report: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Environment/Pages/Spotlight/Global-Ewaste-Monitor-2020.aspx

What it does 💡

TechSrc provides a sustainable solution that allows users to safely dispose of their devices at local electronic vendors, so that their components can be properly recycled. The amount of recyclable material from each device recycled accumulates to the user’s total points. This application encourages its users to recycle and continue recycling their unwanted devices in exchange for reward points that can be later redeemed for a cash prize.

How we built it 🔨

Using the Figma prototyping software, a high-fidelity prototype was created. This prototype covers basic use cases of recycling mobile devices.

Challenges we ran into 🏔️

Due to the time constraint of 24 hours, it was a difficult decision to choose between implementing a small portion of our idea through a functional app or demonstrating our entire idea through a high-fidelity prototype. Therefore, we decided to go ahead with the prototype to demonstrate the key features of our envisioned product and highlight use cases. Additionally, choosing which prototyping software to create our design caused an impediment in our progress.

Accomplishments that we're proud of 🏅

Some accomplishments which we are proud of are learning to use a new prototyping software to deliver our solution, working collaboratively in a remote environment, and addressing a climate change issue involving e-waste.

What we learned 🧠

As avid technology users in the modern era, we learned about the ever-growing impact e-waste has on our climate and the steps that need to be taken to reduce it. Moreover, participating in TOHacks has taught us a lot about time management and communication, as we were given 24 hours.

What's next for TechSrc 💹

To advance TechSrc to the next level - a functioning app, we plan to implement 3 key features. Firstly, using Google Maps API to implement a mapping feature to display nearby e-waste recycling centers as map markers. Secondly, attaching a database that would include user data such as credentials, points earned, and devices recycled to fetch and store accurate data. Finally, we plan to implement an API that would filter, search and display all parts of any recycle device by parsing device data and fetching it through GET requests.

Built With

• blender
• figma