In Ukraine, something as mundane as household waste, which accumulates in landfills by the millions of tonnes each year, is rarely associated with technology and innovation. Fortunately, visionary companies see things differently: One such company, GreenEra Ukraine, has since 2016 been providing waste management services to the residents of Lviv, and has embraced new technology to revolutionize its operations. And despite the numerous challenges posed by today’s ongoing full-scale war, the company is working to develop a unique app that redefines both waste management philosophy and customer experience.
From deep collection systems to landfill reconstruction
Bohdan Mykhalus, founder and director general of GreenEra Ukraine, hails from Lviv. His journey into the world of waste management began in the late 1990s in the United States, where he started a job in that country’s biggest private waste management company.
That experience proved invaluable when he returned to his home city. At that time, Lviv, a popular tourist destination, faced the same waste management issues as many other Ukrainian communities. The idea of separating waste was considered exotic, and household waste was dumped in open containers that were eyesores in the city – particularly in its central areas.
Starting as a waste management advisor for the local government, Mykhalus took it upon himself to begin reforming the entire waste management system in Lviv, later founding GreenEra Ukraine as part of this mission. In 2017, the company made history by installing the city’s first closed waste container areas, and began promoting among city residents the practice of separating household waste. Shortly thereafter, they introduced the deep collection systems that are now installed near every newly constructed residential building and that have become part of the city’s infrastructure.
There is a drawback, however, says Mykhalus. Deep collection systems are a costly solution. “This is especially when you factor in the cost of specialized waste collection trucks servicing them,” he says.
“It represents a significant investment, and considering the state-regulated prices for waste management services, the payback prospects are dim. However, Ukrainian cities simply have no alternative. It’s hard to imagine a modern metropolis without civilized waste management solutions – not just as a luxury for demanding tourists, but as a basic necessity for residents.”
Over time, the company attracted more and more subscribers, including condo management companies, hospitality establishments and residential complexes that recognized and valued these innovative approaches, cementing GreenEra Ukraine’s reputation as a leader in modern waste management. In Lviv, the company was the first in the country to introduce biowaste collection, collecting kitchen waste from condos and restaurants and composting it at a special municipal composting site. Today, this practice has been implemented citywide.
GreenEra Ukraine has since expanded its services to two more cities in Lviv Oblast – Boryslav and Stryi. Through the establishment of a public-private partnership, it took over local landfills and introduced modern principles of waste management and disposal in these communities.
A meaningful mobile app
As GreenEra Ukraine expanded, the team began exploring ways to optimise their operations through modern technologies, Mykhalus says.
“While this business is mostly about logistics, it also has a lot to do with customer experience,” he says. “Overflowing containers, badly parked vehicles obstructing timely waste removal, and malfunctions in the trucks servicing the waste collection facilities can create recurrent pains that require specific solutions. This is how the idea for a dedicated app came about.”
The initial trial version of the app was launched for tablet computers in December 2021. Tablets were distributed to the company’s expeditors, enabling them to access their route for the day, track their movements, and monitor the state of the waste collection areas. Expeditors took pictures of each area before removing waste and right after, documenting the amount of waste collected from each client.
This solution aimed to address several issues. From the logistics perspective, it was designed to optimise the routes, reduce fuel consumption, and improve waste collection schedules. From a customer experience standpoint, routine monitoring of the state of waste, the collection areas and container fill levels allowed GreenEra Ukraine to respond to customer needs in real-time – often before the clients even realized there was a problem
“For instance, if our waste removal truck couldn’t empty a container due to a poorly parked car, our dispatchers are immediately informed,” says Mykhalus. “Since our trucks operate during night hours, this situation is quite common. The dispatchers can notify the client first thing the following morning and reschedule the waste pick-up.”
However, the test run of the app’s initial version revealed several shortcomings, the main problem being that the tablets had to be constantly used, which was just too inconvenient for the waste truck drivers. And unfortunately, with the outbreak of the full-scale war, the company had to suspend any further work on the app.
“But as counterintuitive as it may seem, the full-scale war has made the app more essential than ever, primarily due to the rapid influx of new internally displaced persons (IDPs) into the city, and skyrocketing fuel prices, which have increased operational costs,” Mykhalus explains.
“At the same time, the war has left our company with no resources to continue working on the app, as the government understandably postponed revising (waste collection) tariffs.”
However, the situation improved when the company won an international support grant through programme funded by the EU under its EU4Business Initiative and the German government. GreenEra Ukraine used the grant to conduct a comprehensive audit of its existing solutions to ensure compliance with updated waste management legislation, find ways to optimise the app, and adapt it for use on smartphones instead of tablets. The company is now planning to equip its drivers with smartphones and finalise the web programming of the app.
“The challenges of war made this app even more necessary than ever,” says Mykhalus. “And we now see it as a valuable trove of data. Moreover, with the added difficulty of filling waste truck driver and expeditor positions due to people being drafted into the military, the app allows us to onboard and train new hires more efficiently.”
Additionally, company aims to transform its app into a universal tool accessible to other market participants. For GreenEra Ukraine, that would mean expanding into a new line of business, while other Ukrainian cities could leverage this resource to enhance their waste management practices. However, company spokespeople acknowledge that realizing this ambitious plan will require significant additional effort and investment.
