At Ficha, we started from a simple observation: each year, 400 million euros are wasted due to sorting errors. These are household waste bags, glass, batteries, nitrous oxide, and so on (the list is unfortunately too long) that cause additional costs for communities and danger for the teams who collect and sort.
In this video, Vincent Hipault, our CEO, tells the story of the genesis of our "For what" and details how our solution already allows more than fifty communities to reduce their costs related to sorting errors.
"There is a real problem at the moment with waste management: sorting errors. It is simply citizens who do not necessarily have the knowledge of how to sort properly and who will put non-compliant waste in the sorting bin and that is expensive, while degrading the quality of the flows and the recycled material." Vincent Hipault
Bad sorting habits: a cost of €400 million for communities
Every action counts: a citizen can place non-compliant waste in the recycling bin, these errors arrive at the sorting center without anyone knowing where they came from. And these same errors increase the bill: 400 million euros wasted for communities, degraded flow quality, less pure recycled material.
"It's simply citizens who don't necessarily know how to sort properly and who put non-compliant waste in the recycling bin." Vincent Hipault
Before Ficha, local authorities conducted broad awareness campaigns, with little visibility into where and how to focus their efforts. Thanks to our diagnostics and tools, they can now precisely target the residents affected by these errors and adapt their message.
How to achieve zero?: Zero incineration, zero landfill, zero sorting errors
We have developed an image processing technology based on artificial intelligence, capable of analyzing more than 60 categories of waste.
The technology is deployed in both the Camia and the Cocon.
We are applying this technology in two ways: collection and collective housing.
The Camia, it is our on-board camera in the trucks which allows you to make a precise diagnosis:
- Instant detection of sorting errors : With each bin collection, the onboard AI instantly analyzes the photos and provides information on sorting errors.
- Geolocation of high error rate areas : An interactive map locates the neighborhoods, streets and addresses where the error rate is highest and allows step-by-step tracking.
- Dynamic and exportable dashboards : Follow at a glance:
- total number of errors and share by category (plastic, glass, paper, etc.),
- top 5 high error rate areas,
- daily and monthly evolution of key indicators,
- action planning (automated calendar) and quarterly reports,
- CSV/PDF exports for your reports and sharing.
Camia transforms your collections into usable data to target each action… and reduce the cost of sorting errors.
When Camia diagnoses, the Cocon acts on collective housing
In collective housing, the Cocoon acts as a direct point of contact between the sorting gesture and the user:
- Deployment on sorting bins : The Cocoon is attached to existing bins made available by the community or waste operator.
- Quality and quantity analysis : At each deposit, the device measures whether the packaging is compliant and assesses the quality of the sorting process.
- Personalized feedback via the Ficha application : The user receives a notification in the Ficha application: “Bravo!” or “Attention, that wasn’t the right move.” This feedback answers the question that more than 50 % French people are asking: " Did I sort correctly? »
- Gratification of the gesture : We reward the act of sorting, because it is a lever of motivation for users, with the implementation of a points system allowing them to win rewards (cinema tickets, discount vouchers). “What motivates users most is knowing immediately whether they have sorted correctly.” Vincent Hipault.
"More than 50,000 tonnes of waste still ends up incinerated or landfilled. We want to put an end to this nonsense!" Vincent Hipault
Thanks to the combination of the Camia and the Cocoon, the communities:
- immediately reduce their costs related to sorting errors,
- maximize their profits on the resale of recycled material,
- Less incineration, less landfill or rather: zero incineration, zero landfill, zero sorting errors.
Ready to reach Goal Zero?
At Ficha, we get up every morning to help you eliminate sorting errors.
