Karin Edry &
Judy Kainan

KARIN EDRY

I have always felt the urge to get involved in environmental issues and not stand aside. Embracing that passion, I work as an environmental consultant in the field of Green Building at Alfa Sustainable Projects, while pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Environmental Engineering at Tel Aviv University.

In my military service, I served in the 8200 intelligence unit for three and a half years as an intelligence officer, where I led a team of analysts.

JUDY KAINAN

I don't remember when I realized that what I wanted to do in life would be in the environment and sustainability field, but ever since I have been pushing myself in this direction. I am an undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on environment and energy. During my studies I met Karin, my partner, who shares my dreams and pushes us forward in this field.

During my military service I served in the Air Force as a simulator instructor for three years. This past year I was part of QueenB association which aims to increase female representation in the technology field. 

PROJECT

Upcycling in an Urban City.Our initiative is based on the reuse of others waste and thereby reducing the amount of waste produced in cities. It consists of an easy-to-use application, a storage & distribution warehouse and collaborations with businesses and artists.

ThrowBack is an initiative intended to streamline the process of upcycling in cities. Existing solutions for swapping used materials are cumbersome, lacking a simple and intuitive user interface and map-oriented search. Although there is a great demand for reused materials, a lot of those materials produced by businesses and restaurants arrive in landfills.

Our solution is a comprehensive platform consisting of an app, a physical storage and distribution warehouse and collaboration with restaurants and businesses around the city.

The application will be “all in one” including a "for sale" area with a map-oriented search, an art-sharing area, a warehouse inventory and more.

One of our main goals is becoming a raw materials supplier for kindergartens, workshops and artists.

ThrowBack will benefit the environment by reducing the amount of waste produced in cities and waste going to landfills. We anticipate the formation of an upcycling community leading this market in Israel.

Our initiative is a result of a need we spotted in several Facebook groups and internet pages, whose purpose is swapping used materials. Existing partial solutions, like Zero Waste Israel, Marketplace on Facebook and Agora, don’t provide good enough solutions for the needs arising. By using a virtual and physical platform, we believe that we’ll streamline the upcycling process and make it more approachable. With the proof of a few working ideas and the existence of a big evolving community of reusing materials in Israel, we have the confidence to believe our idea will work and benefit the environment.

MOTIVATION FOR AND COMMITMENT TO CREATING A BETTER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE PLANET

Both of us are passionate about environmental problems, and believe there is no planet B. This firm belief has led us on pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Environmental Engineering, so we can develop solutions for imminent crises.

In Israel, 70% of the waste is buried in landfills, while only 30% is recycled. The amount of waste per capita per day is the largest in the Tel Aviv district, while this sector accounts for about 5% of Green Gas Emissions.

ThrowBack helps people to reduce their urban waste per capita and the impact it has on our planet.