In today’s world there is a
pressing global climate crisis. We are depleting the earth’s resources and
polluting the environment so heavily that we have begun to see irreversible
climate changes in the form of global warming. 2015 was the hottest year in recorded
history; we had to search as far north as the poles to try to even find snow,
and what was even scarier is that places as far north as Juneau, Alaska were
experiencing temperatures averaging in the mid-thirties for the month of
December (That is above freezing temperature!). It does not take an expert to
know that Alaska should be much colder in the winter. These rising temperature
will result in the melting of polar icecaps, rising ocean levels, and depletion
of habitat for wildlife. This is only the most obvious issue as well. There is
direct environmental destruction going on with the depletion of forests all
across the world, the pollution and overharvesting of our oceans making dead
zones where wildlife once used to thrive. There is much more going on as well,
which would take me a whole essay to just list and talk about. And you may ask
then why do we keep polluting, and the answer is simple. We pollute in order to
produce things that humans need for their every day lives in this new modern age.
If all these things that we do to
pollute the environment lead to things that we need then how can we help the
environment and stop polluting? Well we need to try to identify products that
aren’t necessary and search for a creative, innovative, and green solution in
order to eliminate them from our lives and eliminate their environmental
impact. One such product that I will seek to address, through my company Paperless Solutions Inc., is the paper
receipt. Paper receipts are the most unnecessary use of paper in the modern
economy. After many interviews I have discovered that most people never use the
receipts printed, and most stores today (Primarily Restaurants) will ask if you
want your receipt and should you say no then they will just throw it away. This
is a huge problem because paper receipts actually have a huge economic impact
and it has been discovered that they are even harmful to a person’s health! Paper
receipts account for the destruction of over one million gallons of water, burning
of 250 million gallons of oil, and one billion gallons of water consumed every
year. All this generates over 1.5 BILLION pounds of waste in the USA alone, all
for something you’re probably never going to use. Why then are we using paper receipts?
Well the answer is that there currently is no alternative to them and we need a
way to provide proof of purchase so people can make returns, and help track
their spending. However with the technology we have today physical receipts
have become obsolete; we are capable of designing and implementing a much
better and greener system.
Through my budding company Paperless Solutions Inc. I will seek to
provide a technological alternative to a paper receipt. My idea is to provide a
mobile app connected to a website that will simultaneously scan and store
receipts, as a digital file, into an online cloud-based storage system. My system
will allow customers to access these receipts through a secure online account
used via the app or a separate online website. The stored receipts on the app
will work very similarly to a normal paper receipt, containing all the desired information
however in a non-waste creating digital package. The receipts will be scanned
through a digital program either installed onto a separate machine or onto
preexisting machines that are able to scan digital signals, much like the Apple
and Samsung Pay card scanners. I do not know which of these will be more
effective to use but that will be figured out through cost-analysis and
marketing strategies.
The digital receipt, although in
existence, is not currently efficient. Companies such as Square, Inc. offer a “no receipt” and “email receipt” option along
with the traditional receipt. Although those two options do save paper it is
not convenient for people who need to use receipts. The email receipt leads to
a cluttered email inbox and a difficult to access receipt; if a person receives
lots of emails then this would be a very undesirable option, not to mention
they would have to type in their email address after every purchase. The “no
receipt” option is much more convenient as far as time saving and clutter goes
but it does not provide any proof of purchase. With my alternative the shopper
will be able to have an app dedicated solely to the storage an access of
receipts, which will categorize and organize receipts in a way that we find
most efficient (I am not sure whether this will lead to storing the receipts categorially
or in chronological order according to date of purchase, but it will definitely
include a search bar option), which will also have a quick and simple use
simply by opening the app and tapping the phone to the scanner (using much the
same technology as Apple pay). And if the customer does not want to save this
receipt he always has the option to not scan at all. In either case we have the
potential to save up to 1.5 billion pounds of waste every year. And one of the
best parts is that because it is cloud based storage the customer will never
have to waste space on their phone.
However an app like this would
require many people to use it at once, and for it to be offered in many places.
For regular customers, downloading an app they will only use once or maybe
twice a week would not be useful. However if this app were to work directly
with a large corporation such as Walmart and be implemented quickly then this
would incentivize millions of people to use this app saving tons and tons of
waste yearly.
This app has great potential to
take one step closer to saving the environment and making the world a better
place. Pollution caused by humans can slowly be decreased with the help of
modern technology, all without sacrificing our lifestyles. All it takes is
people to be committed to being green.
