Bia Buddy—the smarter choice for food waste
This project is designed to help Ireland reach the sustainable development goal 12.3, that is to halve food waste by 2030. To achieve this SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) EU (European Union) member states must measure, and report food waste generation and the impact of this directive is that food waste data collection is becoming more relevant than ever. This directive will act as a key trigger in driving change of behaviour on behalf of governments and households to reduce waste.
On a day-to-day basis most people do not worry about sustainable development goals or how the EU plans to reach them, what they do worry about is money. On average Irish households produce 130kg of food waste annually which equates to €700 a year highlighting that there is a financial incentive for people to reduce their food waste habits.
Bia Buddy is a smart food waste bin that records how much food waste a household creates; the accompanying app calculates the estimate cost associated with this amount of waste and shares it with the user. When users better understand their own habits and the impact it is having on their wallet, they have a reason to change their habits. Bia Buddy fits right into current food waste collection methods carried out in the home and requires no new learning from the user. Bia Buddy is a smart product as it uses Wi-Fi to share data with the user's device every hour, allowing users to see where they waste the most during the day. Bia Buddy aims to help people help save money and the planet all while reducing the amount of food waste they create.