Zibal-T on-demand trash collection app highly considered by UNDP
System transformation showing how technology and service design reconnect residents and informal waste collectors, fostering economic inclusion while improving urban sustainability.
Role: Researcher, Designer and Strategist
Methods: Rapid ethnographic Research, Ecosystem mapping, personas, journey map, UX design, prototyping, user testing
Project duration: 1 year
Client: Emerson College Engagement Lab (Thesis work)
Zibal-T (Arabic for “my trash”) is an on-demand waste collection service designed to improve Cairo’s fragmented trash management system by fostering direct communication between residents and the Zabaleen (the informal trash collectors), the city’s informal waste collectors.
The solution integrates a dual-interface mobile application with a community-based service model that addresses inconsistent pickup, incentivizes waste segregation, and supports the Zabaleen’s need for sustainable income. By partnering with a local NGO to serve as a trusted intermediary, this service builds accountability, trust, and coordination across stakeholders. Zibal-T received close consideration by the United Nations Development Program in Egypt.
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Cairo’s rapid urbanization and limited municipal resources have resulted in an unreliable waste management system. Accumulated trash is often burned in public streets, creating serious environmental and health risks. At the same time, the Zabaleen—Cairo’s informal waste collectors—lost their primary source of income when waste collection was outsourced to international firms, disrupting a long-standing, community-based system and reducing economic inclusion.
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How might we design a scalable, civic tech enabled service that addresses Cairo’s unreliable waste collection system while empowering the Zabaleen with sustainable income, improving communication with residents, and reducing environmental and public health risks?
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Designed a co-op based technology-enabled, on-demand waste collection service that supports and empowers the Zabaleen rather than replacing them. The solution centers on a mobile application that enables residents to request waste pickup while providing Zabaleen collectors with improved coordination, scheduling, and access to income opportunities. Grounded in service design and local context, the intervention integrates with existing informal systems to improve communication, knowledge transfer, and operational efficiency.
Outcomes
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The work established a scalable, sustainable model for economic inclusion that repositioned informal waste collection as a viable and essential urban service. By demonstrating long-term value across environmental, social, and economic dimensions, it created a compelling framework for high-impact civic innovation that can be adapted to other cities and contexts.
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The initiative formalized and strengthened the role of informal waste collectors within Cairo’s waste ecosystem, improving coordination and communication across the system. Clearer structures and processes enabled more reliable service delivery and supported the long-term sustainability of urban waste operations.
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Residents experienced improved communication, increased transparency, and greater trust in waste collection services. By making the service more understandable and reliable, the work strengthened relationships between communities and collectors while improving overall service quality.
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The success of Zibal-T will be measured by the increase in the number of resident users, as this will attract more Zabaleen to sign up with the platform.
Client satisfaction and repeat engagement
Task completion and outcome adoption
Approach
Rapid ethnographic research (included techniques such as reviewing earlier studies in similar settings/landscape analysis, contextual inquiry).
Interviews
Personas
Journey mapping
Discovery and Research
Wireframing
Prototyping
User Testing
Co-creation workshops
Design
