The Elevator Pitch
Living in a foreign country it’s often hard to know where to take your normal recycling and where to take those special materials (i’m looking at you Toner Cartridge) for disposal. This app is a great one-stop-shopping to turning you into a Recycling Jedi.
While the app is helpful and easy to use you can accomplish the same thing using the Recycling Map website. The app is just a phone-optimized version of the website.
Functionalities and Scenarios
Search
This is the home screen of the app and presents a standard map (based on your phone’s GPS) of the recycling locations near you. Some are no more than drop-off spots for PET bottles but others have more options for recycling. I initially used this map to find my recycling center in Adligenswil where I am a frequent visitors.
Each location, when selected, provides the name and an Info link. The info screen for each recycling spot has the address, a list of the collected items, and links to provide directions, show a photo of the location (often very useful), and the option of adding this location to your list of Favorites. For larger recycling centers the info screen also provides the opening times.
List
The list tab in the bottom navigation simple shows you the closest recycling spots based on your location or from the last position of the map. To make things easier the icons for each type of recycling materials is provided. Selecting any collection point takes you to the full information screen for that individual spot.
Materials
Ah, here’s where the app stops playing checkers and starts playing chess. I have a regular recycling center (shout out to Ökihof Ebnetstrasse!!) but there are some things (like depleted uranium) which I can’t dispose of there. The Materials tab lets me reverse engineer my search: select the material such as Waste Oil and I’m given a screen which goes through the basics of what’s included in that material type and a Show on Map link which will take me back to the map and find the closest location to dispose of that material. Simple and easy but it solves a real problem when you need it.
Favorites
I doubt many of us have a long list of favorite recycling places but it is convenient to mark a location as a favorite so you can check the details (like its opening days/times) in a few clicks.
The User Experience
This is a straightforward and simple app that does what it needs to do without much in the way of fluff or superfluous design. Sometimes you need to do a bit of manipulation of the map to get the information you want (especially when dealing with Materials) but in general it works well, provides accurate and timely information, and accomplishes most things in only a few clicks.
Price : Free
