Track: Undergraduate Student Paper Competition

Abstract

According to the United Nations and their Human Settlements Program, 7.000 to 10.000 million tons of waste are produced every year in all the world causing a huge air, water and ground pollution. In Cuenca, Ecuador, waste management is carried out by the Cuenca Municipal Public Cleaning Company, which indicates that there is a lack of recycling culture of the citizens due to ignorance about classification and separation of waste. Therefore, it is proposed a user-centered mobile application adoption as an alternative solution to separate waste properly, considering Design Thinking and Technology Acceptance Model. The findings of the study suggest that the app needs to be simple, intuitive, attractive and made up of classification, education and use. Moreover, the study shows that the attitude of users about this app influences the intention to use it and also that the social image within Cuenca influences the perceived ease of use of it.