Nestlé belongs to the list of companies determined to lessen the environmental impact of its packaging. To foster positive changes related to smart treatment of used packaging, the food giant has released the world’s first free, mobile application for iPhone and Android devices dubbed 123Recycle, which scans the products barcode and shows tips on the best ways to recycle the packaging.

“I noticed that people in the apartment block where I live were sorting waste packaging for recycling incorrectly. I realized that there was not enough information at the recycling point to help people understand which parts of the packaging should be put in which bin,” explained Yves Soppelsa, Senior Packaging Engineer at the Nestlé Research Center in Singapore, who has suggested the idea of the app, which is now available in Singapore only.

The application offers clear instructions on what to do with different parts of the packaging—how to sort and dispose them. It can be used both for Nestlé (so far, it works for 99% of products by the company sold in the country), and non-Nestlé ones (companies can include their products for free), but in this case it provides with less detailed instructions. “For Maggi brand tomato sauce for example, it advises users to put the product’s bottle and label in the green recycling bin for glass and its metal screw cap in the yellow bin for metal and aluminium,” explains www.nestle.com.

“With the widespread use of smart phones and social media, the 123Recycle app is a convenient way to help the public recycle waste material properly. With an email option included in the app, we hope it will become viral, so more people will be encouraged to do their part for the environment,” commented Valerio Nannini, Country Manager of Nestlé Singapore. The app may be introduced for other counties and larger cities as well, but for this, the location should have “a strong waste management policy and colour-coded recycling bins.”