Lorena co-founded ReciVeci, a social enterprise that uses an app to connect grassroots recyclers with people and organisations requiring recycling services.
ReciVeci started in 2016 when Lorena and her co-founders, Paula Guerra and Claudia Andrade, noticed two related problems. First, much of the city’s waste was not being properly recycled. Second, waste collectors, who often had to search through trash, were underpaid, unrecognised, and worked in unsafe conditions. To address this, they created a mobile app that teaches people how to sort their waste and connects them with a waste collector who can pick it up directly from their homes.
The social enterprise has recycled 3,000 tonnes of waste, equivalent to 2,340 tonnes of CO2. ReciVeci has 92 active waste collectors on their mobile platform. Compared to traditional waste picking methods, collectors using ReciVeci can complete collections in roughly one-third of the time and make 30% more income. ReciVeci waste collectors are also provided personal protective equipment (PPE), estimated to prevent 60 occupational injuries yearly, and dental and vision examinations.
Lorena attended the 2023 Summit in Belfast on a scholarship from the Former First Lady of Ecuador, María De Lourdes Alcivar De Lasso, where she represented one of the country’s 24 provinces. She also had the opportunity to make connections with the 100+ Accelerator, and participate in a workshop led by AB InBev. She felt that meeting other young Ecuadorians, many of whom had not previously had the opportunity to interact with youth outside of the country, was her most impactful Summit experience.
“I went to Belfast in 2023 as part of a local programme that took one person per province. Ecuador has 24 provinces, so we travelled with 24 people. I was really inspired seeing the potential that my own country has in these international spaces.”
Contributor
