Two young people from Barcelos want to untie the knot of textile waste collection in Guimarães

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Briefings

Two students from Barcelos, Flávio Fernandes and Hélder Gonçalves, developed the 'Novelo' platform to solve textile waste collection in Guimarães. They won Hack4Guimarães 2035 and TextVitrus challenges with 8,500 euros, proposing a data-driven algorithm that routes textile collection without compactors. The project aims to optimize routes and costs across Guimarães's 86 schools and municipal points, with a three-month pilot phase in two freguesias. The initiative seeks to prevent mixed waste and extend textile life through digital tracking.

Key points

Flávio Fernandes and Hélder Gonçalves, both students in engineering informatics, developed the 'Novelo' platform to address textile waste in Guimarães.

The project won Hack4Guimarães 2035 and TextVitrus challenges with a total prize of 8,500 euros, funding a three-month pilot in two Guimarães freguesias.

Context

Guimarães faces a critical textile waste crisis, with over 3,000 tons of textile waste ending up in landfills annually in 2025. The 'Novelo' platform uses AI and mathematical optimization to create a dedicated circuit for textile collection, avoiding contamination and compacting issues. This solution is designed to be adaptable to other municipalities in Portugal.

Limitations

The evidence covers only the development and initial pilot phase of the 'Novelo' platform in Guimarães. Specific operational costs, long-term environmental impact data, and the effectiveness of the algorithm across different municipalities remain unverified. The project's full implementation timeline and detailed cost breakdowns are not provided in the source.

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