GreenScanr, a new app from Richmond’s Data Company One Inc. (DC1), is an AI-powered item-recognition tool aimed at improving the recycling rates of both individuals and organizations.
The team of four behind GreenScanr built it with the idea that what gets measured, gets managed. The simple solution — a tool where anyone can easily track their recycling habits through analytics — officially launched in March. With the help of founders and investors, about $700,000 has been put into the app so far, according to the company.
In the early going, GreenScanr worked with litter groups like North Carolina’s Keep High Point Beautiful to gain revenue but is now partnering with local universities and e-commerce retailers as well as charging a monthly subscription fee for access to a dashboard that displays group statistics. Its user count is now in the hundreds and is growing, and has been used in recycling efforts at James Madison and Arizona State universities.
The company declined to comment on revenue.
The biggest challenge the GreenScanr team is currently facing is figuring out the best way to engage people who are not environmentally conscious, according to Associate Justin Showalter. The company has settled on gamification, framing recycling in a fun and rewarding way, to earn buy-in. Currently, users can scan items and track their carbon offsets in real time.
In the future, GreenScanr developers want to be able to take carbon offset and other data and create a global leaderboard where users can compete with friends to accumulate points that will eventually earn them badges and prizes.
Each item scan on the app provides the company with 24 points of data, including carbon impact, geolocation tags, material weight, user demographics — all made possible by its WasteX engine. The engine is an AI-driven database that processes waste scans at disposal and creates data points that can aid the user in decision-making surrounding sustainability and waste management, according to GreenScanr’s website.
“Our goal is always to make a difference, first and foremost, in our home city of Richmond,” Showalter said in regard to the expansion of DC1 products. “We are constantly improving and have a lot of advancements in the works, but to see real change, we need the help of partners who also want to make a greener city.”
One advancement is DC1’s new GreenScanr Station. The station acts as a smart recycling hub for businesses, universities, government institutions, breweries and restaurants. A camera and monitor are placed above a recycling station that uses AI item recognition to help people appropriately sort their waste. At the moment, the stations are in the test phase and will soon be rolled out on a larger scale in Richmond, according to CEO and founder Simon Glossop.
DC1 employs a total of eight, and hopes to grow in the future. The 2-year-old company’s other products include LitterX, a litter information tool, and TrackitX, an asset-tracking app.