How a Digital Currency Can Incentivise Local Upcycling of Materials

Although digital currencies are most used in finance, they can also be repurposed as local currencies to activate circular local economies. In a case study, researcher Cristina Viano, explores how a digital wallet app could help the communities in Turin and Egaleo, to share and repair objects, and to upcycle building materials.

Imagine you just finished renovating your small balcony in Egaleo, Greece. Your new tiles gleam under the autumn sun, but the old wooden floorboards, now stacked awkwardly in a corner, are problematic. The city’s recycling bins aren´t designed for this kind of waste. So, what should you do?

This every-day situation is in focus at a Community Lab, a space for workshops and 'do it yourself' repairs in Egaleo. Within the lab, the CORPUS project’s research team are testing how a digital wallet app could support communities in repairing objects and reusing building materials. 

The concept is simple. By participating in community workshops and donating building materials to a Community Lab, you earn 'tokens' - a kind of digital currency unique to the neighbourhood. The tokens could then be used to rent tools for handmade projects or to get discounts at local shops. 

A customised local currency for upcycling materials

What began as a small, practical problem of not knowing where to dispose of wood from a home renovation, turned into an opportunity to exchange its value for something else. But what exactly determines the value of a material or a positive action? 

Cristina Viano, CORPUS Project Manager and Researcher at the University of Turin, says

Depending on what a community wants to incentivise, the value assigned to a token can be adjusted 

The CORPUS Project team adapted a blockchain based platform and its 'tokens', or digital currencies, to incentivise specific actions, such as recovering materials for renovating public spaces like parks. Using a digital currency can also facilitate sharing objects such as tools, and the formation of social relationships within the community, she explains. 

Next steps: A handbook toolkit to inspire more municipalities to share objects and upcycle materials

In 2026, the team will release a handbook and toolkit for the participatory design and implementation of community-based circular urban economies — along with the prototype of a blockchain-based wallet app.

Professionals in the field of digital social innovation, neighbourhood associations, and local administrators can benefit from the project's outcomes. The toolkit can be used to learn about tokenised economies and which participatory methods can help activate a local lab, says Cristina Viano.

Learn more about the CORPUS project