Uni(Re)Cycle App - Case - Dutch Coding Company

The question

The schools' own analysis shows that only 30% of the trash in the bins originates from within the universities. That means that 70% of the waste of both universities originates off campus. That's A LOT! To find the core of the problem, Dutch Coding Company was asked to realize the idea for an app. Read more about the Uni(Re)Cycle project and find out what the answer is.

Our answer

The idea for the Uni(Re)Cycle app was created to tackle the problem at its core (student behavior). The goal of this gamification application is to stimulate environmentally conscious behavior among students. The users are challenged in various areas of sustainability. You can earn points by completing challenges like “pack your lunch in reusable containers, instead of disposable bags”, that can be used for nice (and sustainable!) rewards such as discounts on sustainable brands. Besides these rewards, the app also offers friendly competition in the form of a sustainability league. The ultimate goal is to create lasting changes in behavior by using nudging in order to promote responsible and sustainable consumption in the campus.

Google Flutter Framework

We used Google’s Flutter Framework to develop the Uni(Re)Cycle app. By using Flutter we can create a beautiful and stable app for Android and iOS from one codebase. The great thing about that is we don’t only save time, but also create a good and consistent experience on both platforms.

Voor de ontwikkeling van de Unicycle app is gebruik gemaakt van het Google Flutter Framework. Middels Flutter kunnen wij vanuit één codebase een mooie stabiele app ontwikkelen voor de besturingssystemen iOS zowel Android. Het mooie is dat we niet alleen in tijd besparen maar ook ervoor zorgen dat de gebruikers een fijne ervaring hebben op beide platformen.

Within the Flutter Framework it is possible to add multiple themes in an app without changing the functionality. For Uni(Re)Cycle we used two themes, such that both the Amsterdam University and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (two different, but related, institutes) have an app in their own brand.

Climate change and environmental pollution are topics we cannot ignore these days. Every day it’s becoming more urgent to contribute to a solution. Most people are aware of this, but are not actively helping. By developing this app, we make it easy for students from both universities to make a positive impact on these topics.

On average the challenges in the app would save about 10kg CO2 and 2kg of trash per user, per week. If only 10% of the students from Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences would use this app and would finish 3 challenges per week, you’d save 400.000kg CO2 and ±70.000kg trash.

In collaboration with

SURFconext

To make it easy and quick for students to use the app, we are a service provider for SURFcontext for the Uni(Re)Cycle app. Meaning that users from educational institutions can sign in via SURFcontext single sign-on, without them having to create a new account. Within SURFcontext the app has been configured to be used by students from Amsterdam University and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences only.