Imagine yourself at the hospital bed of a loved one. The doctors and nurses have just rushed in to resuscitate them. Their life hangs in the balance, not because of a device malfunction or health complication, but a power outage.
 
The World Bank has named energy poverty in developing countries as one of the world’s most widespread and debilitating crises. Due to energy shortages and inefficiencies, electricity blackouts due to load shedding and mismanagement can blanket communities for hours every week, sometimes every day. In 2007 a study of hospitals in 10 developing world nations revealed that the most common cause of failure in medical devices is an inadequate power supply. Energy poverty not only plagues hospitals, but small businesses and households, who would never be able to afford the luxury of $200 generators or even a $70 UPS.
 
To improve the quality of life and economic productivity in developing communities around the world, Waste to Watts has designed a low-cost, modular back-up power supply that will run devices ranging from EKGs and patient monitors to computers and household lights for several hours when the power goes out. How are we cutting costs?  The most expensive components of the device are made of… trash. We are repurposing electronic waste, one of the fastest growing pollution problems in the world, to build our device. We currently have a working prototype and a business model to accept donations and bring our device to the developing world.  All we need is your help. j.molini230.0