We’re delighted to learn that Dsposal, a WASTE MANAGEMENT Smart Class 2018 innovation sponsor, is amongst five companies to have been awarded funding in the first GovTech Catalyst round’s “tracking waste through the waste chain” challenge competition. Many congratulations Sophie Walker and Tom Passmore!
“Dsposal is a clean-tech start-up working towards a world where all waste is treated as a resource. They build easy-to-use tech to connect all waste producers to licensed waste services and make compliance simple. They believe in making the relevant data accessible and convenient to use, driving behaviour change and creating value by maximising the utility of waste. The KnoWaste project is designed to bring a smart waste solution in two parts. The first is a simple, free to use waste app. This can be used by any person or organisation to deal with their waste correctly. We enable the whole waste job to be handled in the app. From picking a licensed waste company to checking their credentials and paying for the job when it’s been carried out compliantly. Everyone along the waste pathway benefits. The second part of KnoWaste is the design of an open data standard for waste on which will be built a central database. Using a standard means that we can gather better quality data. Which will help us all meet the ambitions in the Resources and Waste Strategy. This single central database will connect the separate systems currently in use, providing the regulators with the oversight they need and the industry with the insight it requires. The Dsposal KnoWaste project team is strengthened by working with partner organisations – Open Data Manchester and The University of Bradford, an Ellen MacArthur Foundation ‘Pioneer University’ – to enhance and ground the project”.
Smart Classes also congratulates Anthesis, ISL, PragmatIC and Topolytics who have likewise been awarded up to £80,000 to develop innovative digital solutions to tackle the challenge of “tracking waste from its source through its treatment and final disposal”. Last week’s announcement from DEFRA and Environment Minister, Therese Coffey, reported that the winning projects include “research into tracking waste through electronic chips and sensors, the use of blockchain, looking at common reporting platforms, and new data analytics”. It builds on the UK government’s recently published Resources and Waste Strategy, which includes the introduction of compulsory electronic tracking of waste to help combat illegal movements of waste at home and abroad.
At WASTE MANAGEMENT Smart Class 2018 (which we hosted at ODI Leeds back on November 28th), Dsposal’s Co-Founders, Sophie and Tom, explored the idea of passive compliance and explained how technology can be deployed to tackle waste crime by cutting out the illegal operators, simplifying Duty of Care and nudging better behaviour. They also discussed how these initial steps can take us down a road to smart waste tracking and how we can use that data to drive the transition to a Circular Economy. Check out this “Retrospective” to access Sophie and Tom’s presentation slides.
We’re excited to be hosting WASTE MANAGEMENT Smart Class 2019 in London (at Browns Courtrooms, Covent Garden) on July 10th. This collaborative, half day, knowledge exchange event will show key buyer side stakeholders how deploying the latest digital technology-enabled solutions, data-driven strategies and best practices can help increase the efficiency of waste collection, separation and disposal, and facilitate the transition of the UK waste market to a circular economy. Delegates include commissioning, procurement, trialling and partnering leads, senior influencers and strategic decision makers from UK waste collection authorities (WCAs), waste disposal authorities (WDAs), private waste contractors, local authorities (city, borough, metropolitan, district and county councils)/combined authorities and their waste management & recycling partners, retailers, health services, building and estate services, transport operations (and other major industry generators of waste), utilities and renewable energy providers, reuse and waste prevention organisations, central government departments and environmental agencies. Those with relevant buyer side credentials can register here for a free delegate place. If you’re a Smart innovator/vendor, or if your company sources or advises on digital technology-enabled solutions, data-driven strategies or best practices that can play a key role in helping our delegates address their waste management challenges, please ask about our innovation sponsorship packages which (amongst other benefits) enable your speaker to deliver a unique thought leadership presentation around a priority innovation topic and your team of experts to host a series of deeper-dive roundtable consultations with the delegates: enquiries@smartclasses.co
