Football, Blockchain, and plastic pollution
It was 2006 when the FIFA World Cup was held in Germany. At the time I was on a business trip and I didn’t have tickets, so I had to resort to watching football on the big screen in the open air.
When watching football, people like to drink beer. Beer was sold in plastic cups. But what surprised me was that the area where the huge crowd was watching football was absolutely spotless. Not a single plastic cup was thrown away. And this wasn’t because everyone was environmentally conscious, or because drunk people are especially sensitive to the problem of plastic pollution.
The trick was about price. The price for a beer was 6 euros, but everyone who brought the glass back received 2 euros.
I remember this story when I moved to the United States. While living in Brooklyn I saw a ton of garbage in front of every house. It was then when I realized the scale of the problem.
According to the National Geographic, “Roughly 40 percent of the now more than 448 million tons of plastic produced every year is disposable, much of it used as packaging intended to be discarded within minutes after purchase.”
After reading that I asked myself; how can I replicate “the beer glass” model in daily life?
How wonderful would it be to attach money to each product package but with the condition that the consumer will be able to use this money if the manufacturer receives the packaging back?
Guess what? This kind of smart contract is now possible thanks to blockchain technology. So without further ado, let me introduce you to our startup Oxyn.
What is Oxyn?
Oxyn is a cryptocurrency and blockchain environment that allows you to effortlessly send packages back to the manufacturer for re-use purposes. Simply put, you’ll earn money by sending used product packaging back to the manufacturer.
To earn Oxyns, you just have to follow these three simple steps:
- Buy products with the Oxyn logo on it.
- After you have consumed the product, scan the unique code attached to a product package via our mobile application.
- Once you have scanned all the packages, press the button that reads “Take away.” That’s it! We’ll take care of rest: We’ll collect the items from your location, clean, sort, and send them back to the manufacturers.
The manufacturers will receive packages for further use and you’ll receive Oxyns, which gives access to exclusive products and services offered by our partners.
Why Cryptocurrency?
“But wait, why cryptocurrency? I don’t believe in it. It’s fake money!”
Allow me to first say this: Oxyn’s economy is the same as it is for any stablecoin. Put simply, it means that behind each Oxyn there is an appropriate amount of US dollars (or any other currency). As such, it can be exchanged to fiat currency at any time.
But to earn Oxyns for individuals, the only way will be to go green — by collecting and sending used product packages back to the manufacturer. In other words, you as an individual can sell Oxyns at any time, but you won’t buy it. This allows different businesses to provide additional perks to people who care for the environment and hold Oxyns.
On another hand, Oxyn allows us to make microtransactions instantly and with no charge. The transaction price through plastic credit/debit card payment gateways costs an average of 2.5%, with a minimum of $0.30. So you want to transfer $0.50 you have to pay $0.30 as a payment fee anyway. That doesn’t leave much left.
Why Blockchain?
Blockchain technology is more than just cryptocurrency; there’s far more to it than just the zero transaction fees. The true power of blockchain technology brings about so many advantages to today’s modern world.
Oxyn is a blockchain ecosystem developed by the Ox Foundation. It’s open-source and could be used by any organization or company that fights against plastic pollution. With its free-of-charge cryptocurrency, transparent data, and top-of-the-line smart contracts, the Ox Community is an environment that creates synergy and empowers each other.
We firmly believe that collaboration between nonprofit institutions, enterprises, and individuals is the only way to combat plastic pollution, and blockchain is what enables us to achieve this globally.
Who We Are?
I think honesty is the primary trait needed in order to achieve success in any field. So when I decided to write a series of blog posts about our initiative, I wanted to keep them remarkably honest and authentic.
Oxyn is a small startup initially founded by three friends. Unclear future of Crypto world, regulations, lack of investment… So, many doubts, so many obstacles. My friends decided to left the company (They are working on different innovations and I’m sure that they will succeed soon). I decided to stay, simply because that’s how I see the future. I want to see this in real life.
I spent the last 5 years working around different environmental innovations. Our team is supported by a few more members from the Republic of Georgia and Russia. So now we are a diverse team of professionals, each more passionate about the blockchain and environment than the last. We’ve just published our mobile application on the App Store and we have even started scouting for allies who share our same ideals, who see the future as we see it, and who believe we can live on this planet without destroying it.
To be continued!
