Tinos has officially joined an innovative recycling network, allowing residents and visitors of the beautiful Cyclades island to digitally track the packaging they recycle and see in real-time their environmental impact. The Whywasteme recycling network boasts over 70 points across Tinos.

This initiative features Greece’s first mobile app that personalizes efforts to protect the country’s seas and coasts, encouraging both locals and tourists to boost recycling.

The official launch took place last week during the event inaugurating the initiative “Towards a sustainable Tinos with zero plastic waste,” under the auspices of the Municipality of Tinos. The international organization Beyond Plastic Med supported the event, coordinated by Kalloni, which runs Tinos’ recycling unit.

Residents, business owners, and tourists can download the app for free and create personal profiles. By scanning empty packaging and disposing of it in designated bins, shown on the app’s digital map, users earn environmental points. These points are automatically converted into donations for marine conservation.

Each five points equates to one euro, which app users can donate to three NGOs—iSea, All for Blue, and Aegean Rebreath—that focus on cleaning Greece’s seabed and coasts. Additionally, users can view friends’ performances, compete with them, and invite others to join a unique recycling game.

Top recyclers this summer will win prizes from the innovative Greek company PHEE, which repurposes plant debris like seaweed, tea, and coffee grounds into new products, thereby reducing greenhouse gases. PHEE’s circular technology creates new surfaces to replace conventional materials in construction and furniture, and produces useful items in collaboration with Greek brands and designers.

The Whywasteme app, available for free on Android and iOS at whywasteme.org, supports any disposable packaging made of plastic, paper, glass, or aluminum. It also allows users to register new packaging and add recycling points anywhere in the country.