ReUsables by Nate

ReUsables by Nate - February 2020 Scholarship Essay

While visiting the Florida Everglades I noticed extensive pollution while bird-watching, which led me to investigate possible solutions. Over the next year, I transformed my home into an eco-friendly environment, led a schoolwide battery recycling initiative and organized multiple beach clean-ups. Still, I wonder what I specifically can do to make a change. I would create a non-profit organization along with an app, whose purpose is to aid in the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle initiative.

Most businesses are either business to consumer, or consumer to consumer. I believe that there is value to create a business that would be consumer to non-profit to business (CNPB). As people want to help our environment more than ever, this process will allow the entire market to benefit from clean and reusable methods.

When people have products that are either broken or worn out, they often leave it outside of their house or apartment for a disposal truck to come and take away. Most notably, this happens with furniture, electronics, and mattresses, but then these items are often discarded in a landfill or incinerated. My new organization is called ReUsables, which is based on an app that directs an individual to businesses that could use their discarded materials. Although some of these products may be recycled, my method will effectively optimize the use of reusing, since recycling methods can still be harmful to the environment.

Once a person downloads the app, they establish their personal information and create an account. When they have an item that is no longer needed, they post a picture with a description. The app then alerts the user if a company or other individual is interested in the material. If there is a match, a truck from ReUsables picks up the item and delivers it to the business. Businesses pay a fee for this exchange, covering service costs. All proceeds received will be invested in research toward bettering the environment. The incentive for businesses to work with ReUsables is that they attain material at a cheaper cost, and the ability to become eco-friendly through the use of recycled material. For the user, the incentive is to have free disposal of their unwanted items, as well as the personal satisfaction from taking part in helping sustain the environment.