Plastic Pollution Challenge
There are 2.4 million students enrolled in universities in Vietnam every year. They go to campus to study and socialize, eating and drinking daily. The main plastic waste items generated on the campus are single-use plastics, styrofoam cups and food containers .
Solution
AYA provides end-to-end solutions, including training, know-how, software, and hardware, to implement the campus’s sharing cup system. We collaborate and strengthen our solution with Schoolab Vietnam (Innovation training center), who is implementing Deplasticfying in Campus in different universities.
AYA provides embedded tech solutions and high-quality reusable cups and food containers for cantines, food and drink vendors on campus to replace the use of disposables. Students can borrow the reusables and return them at collection points around campus.
Innovation
An upstream innovation, redesign how students reuse cups within their campus. We design-out single-use plastic, right at the source – with our closed-loop system of cup lending in a closed and controlled environment.
Our innovation comes from the effort of changing people’s behavior. Besides, we collaborate with multiple stakeholders to keep a lean operation for this long term project.
Impact Model
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SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: As reusable cups are circulated and reused thousands of times, there is no waste to be collected, hence reducing transportation and energy needed for waste management and recycling, pollution and public costs for municipalities. |
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SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: By replacing low quality single-use plastic cups with durable BPA free reusable cups in a systematic way, the project can reduce plastic consumption from the source. |
Business Model
Vendors who join the system pay a flat fee of USD 30/month, and it’s free for students. The primary financial resources will come from sponsors, donations and government grants.
Market
| Education level | # of students (milion) | # of schools | Est.disposable cups used per day | Est.disposable cups used per semester (180 days) |
| Elementary | 7.8 | 15,254 | 1,495,890 | 269,260,274 |
| Lower secondary | 5.14 | 10,320 | 985,753 | 177,435,616 |
| Upper secondary
(incl Trade schools Universities, Colleges) |
2.4 | 2,399 | 25,571 | 4,602,740 |
| Total | 15.34 | 27,973 | 2,507,215 | 451,298,630 |
Traction and Key Metrics
Projects:
- Provide Cup Sharing solution at Music Festival Epizode 2019. Saved 44.000 single-use plastic cups.
- Provide Cup Sharing Solution at Marathon Lakerun 2020. Saved 2300 single-use plastic cups.
We already have sponsors:
- VSVA (Grant);
- Mitsui Chemical (Grant);
- co (Mobile App);
- Schoolab – Deplasyticfying Campus (Design thinking and training for students).
Prizes:
- Winner of UNEP Low Carbon Footprint challenge in South East Asia;
- TOP 14 of the Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) delivered by UNDP.
Vision
Educate, empower, and unite Gen Z with corporations to collectively create sustainable shared values in eradicating single-use plastic on campuses in Vietnam and Asia.
Investment
We are looking for sponsors for hardware (reusable cups and containers), washing machines and transportation as well as financial support for: human resources, purchasing hardware (cups and washing stations) and software, and maintaining facilities to launch and implement programs in 3 universities in 2021.
Contact
For more informations about us :
