You might be segregating your trash at home by having designated bins for recyclable and non-recyclable waste. If you are, GREAT! But how sure are you that the collectors follow basic waste management?
If they don't, it's very likely that all your care and effort won't amount to significant change when trash goes where it shouldn't. Recyclable items like plastic containers, cardboards, and aluminum and tin cans need to end up in recycling facilities—not in landfills, rivers, or oceans.
To make sure that basic waste management is followed, the app Trash Panda was created. It's a collection service app, where you schedule to have your recyclable trash picked up. In the process, it teaches users how to prepare the recyclable items for collection—for instance, cans must be rinsed then dried, sheets of paper must be stacked, cardboard boxes folded flat.
And as with any collection service app, you can check the status and location of the collector. Specifically on Trash Panda, you'll also know how much of your trash has been recycled.
The app also has guides on waste segregation and tips for reducing one's waste and avoiding single-use plastic.
Trash Panda can do its collection services in Makati, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Manila, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, and Taguig, plus Cainta, Rizal.
As of this writing, the app is available for download on Google Play only. Just wait a little longer, iPhone users!