In Mexico, 53 million tons of solid waste are generated each year, but less than 10 percent is recycled because most people do not recognize the value of waste and it becomes a garbage problem.
To reverse plastic pollution, mainly, and promote recycling, showing the different types of materials and collection centers, three Mexican entrepreneurs, Alejandra Valdéz, Mariana Soto, and Lisseth Cordero, launched the Ecolana App, which was announced on May 17 by 24 Mexican celebrities, in the context of the commemoration of the International Recycling Day.
“The Ecolana app is a social commitment to get millions of Mexican families to adopt the habit of inclusive recycling. To help us amplify this message, we ask for the help of generous men and women who have put their profile as public figures at the service of the environmental cause in our country. We are very grateful for the great support that this movement is receiving ”, said Mariana Soto, communication director of Ecolana and master in Business Administration from the University of Les Roches in Switzerland.
Through a video broadcast on social networks, 24 celebrities and public figures made known their involvement in favor of recycling and environmental responsibility, promoting the mobile download of the Ecolana App, a digital tool that makes recycling easier for Mexican households and that has the backing of the United Nations environment program.
“Ecolana has been operating since 2018 as a social and environmental impact company that promotes inclusive recycling in Mexico through its digital platform, where anyone can find collection centers and locations to take their waste to recycling, recycling tips and a dictionary of waste that tells you what to do with them and how to take them to the collection to facilitate their recycling ", said Alejandra Valdéz, financial director of Ecolana and environmental engineer for the National Polytechnic Institute.
In this way, she said that as of today, the app is integrated into the priority actions that this social enterprise carries out in favor of environmental culture in Mexico.
In 2020, these entrepreneurs were chosen as Recycling Heroes by the prestigious publication Recycling International, as they managed to turn Ecolana into one of the most awarded environmental initiatives of today, highlighting the avant-garde values, accessibility, and innovation that distinguish the project.
“We have found that most of the people in Mexico consider recycling to be difficult, that motivated us to work harder. The app that we present today will break that taboo and will make Mexico now have a simple, fun and productive alternative for millions of homes to recycle, ”said Lisseth Cordero, general director of Ecolana and an industrial engineer for the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.
The Ecolana app allows users to earn points by recycling, learn more about environmental culture, meet recycling challenges, invite friends to recycle and promote inclusive recycling, which is exchangeable for discounts on products that promote a life without waste, services mobility, and experiences such as tickets to concerts, plays, and museums.
Source: MILENIO