My vreugdes en frustrasies

IBMC

IBMC #07 An app that encourages picking up and tracking litter

Litter: those items like plastic bottles and bags, cigarette butts, tangled fishing lines, styrofoam cups and food trays, paper, cans, used diapers – in short, rubbish that should not be left lying in an open or public place.

If you follow the hashtag #zwerfie (derived from the Dutch word ‘zwerfafval’ (meaning litter) on Twitter, you will see some lively discussions, initiatives and photos that deal with this topic. This is how I found this very interesting news article written by Rob Price about the Litterati app, which I sourced from Business Insider online.

Extracts from the article

Litterati is an app that encourages users to pick up and track litter.  [The] app “gamifies” picking up litter, letting users take photos of what they’ve collected and track their environmental efforts. To date, its users have picked up almost 1 million pieces of litter around the world. [T]he company has now been awarded a $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, a US government agency that funds research and education projects.

My two cents’ worth:

Littering is a worldwide problem. Unfortunately, there are always those individuals who do not realise or do not care about the destruction of the environment. Littering literally kills off our food sources on land and in the ocean. We see it daily on the beaches in our immediate area – people are too lazy to pick up their litter and put it in the bins provided. Some even go as far as calling their (non)actions ‘job creation’, meaning that the authorities employ workers to clean the beaches, so why do it yourself?

In various coastal areas, the authorities pass by-laws to prevent littering, but they do not have the necessary manpower to enforce these laws. Another problem is a lack of proper management of available resources.

Innovative initiatives, like this app, can provide valuable data to the appropriate authorities, enabling them to plan their refuse removal and recycling initiatives to optimise resources. It also makes the public more aware of the problems that exist in the various countries and regions. More than that, it serves as a motivating factor to obtain ‘buy-in’ from the general public.

Still, to litter or not is a conscious choice by an individual and I am of the opinion that this kind of behavior should be addressed from a young age. The responsibility for instilling basic good manners rests with the parents and the community in general. Cleaning up after others should not be a burden on a few thousand individuals who take pride in their environment and are responsible enough to look after the wellbeing of the planet.

IBMC #07: The News and Paper Challenge


I am taking part in the Incredible Blogger Marathon Challenge (IBMC). Prakash Hegade is the event organiser. The IBMC is a series of ten diverse tasks, set to prove the versatility of the participants. Read all my responses to this series here.

{For the 7th challenge in this series] – You are going to pick up a news paper article. Either online or take a snapshot from the hard copy paper. Use appropriate reference for the article you have used. You need to debate and discuss your view points on the selected article. How best can you do? You can pick up any category like general, politics, entertainment, etc. Even guest columns are very much appreciated.

 

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16 Comments

  1. Ek het gister weer inmekaar gekrimp toe ek sien in watter toestand ons onmiddellike omgewing is. Mense gee niks om nie…hier is ‘n leë erf op ons hoek. Dis nou al twee meter hoër as die pad, van alles wat daar gestort is!Daar was al hoeveelkeer bordjies om storting te verbied, opgesit,maar die mense gooi die goed sommer so om en oor die bordjie…absolute minagting van reëls en die omgewing!

    • Comment by post author

      HesterLeyNel

      Dit gebeur hier ook en die ding is, dis so dig bebos hier dat jy ‘n ossewa hier kan weggooi en dit lê versteek onder die plantegroei vir maande. Dit wat in die oseane beland, is wat my die meeste bekommer, want dit vernietig die seelewe.

  2. Littering is a world-wide problem that will probably never go away despite any amount of legislation to the contrary. You hit the nail on the head with the lack of manpower and people’s general attitude that someone else can be paid to pick up what is left behind. Where is the money to come from for that – or the political will? The solution begins with the individual and I fully agree that adults need to model the correct behaviour for the younger generation.

    • Comment by post author

      HesterLeyNel

      Thank you for commenting Anne. I am just so afraid that it is already too late – mankind is determinedly following the path to self-destruction.

  3. Much better prompt. Littering is a natural way of getting rid of what you don’t need! Dis sleg om te hoor wat jy en Bytjie sê van mens wat hul goed weggoi op leë erwe. Wat dink sulke mense van hulself?

    • Comment by post author

      HesterLeyNel

      Met die voortdurende bevolkingsaanwas en gebrekkige bestuur van die owerhede se kant af, raak hierdie tendens net erger by die dag.

      • Ja daardie oorbevolking bring die mensdom op hulself en gaan nog ons ondergang wees. Hier is op oomblik waterpokkies wat rondloop, steek almal aan omdat hul so naby aan mekaar is

        • Comment by post author

          HesterLeyNel

          Ons het hier ook weer uitbrake van kindersiektes, onder andere masels. Nou moet jy weet, die virus “strain” (Afrikaans?) het nou al so gemuteer dat die gewone entstof niks meer daaraan kan doen nie.

        • Nou praat jy. Hier is pampoentjies in omloop. Hul beweer nou dat die entstof wat ons as kind gekry het moontlik nie meer so goed werk nie. Hul vra nou dat mens maar weer geimuniseer moet word vir pampoene. Hier is daar die uitgangspunt dat kleintjies moenie hul kinderweerstand reeks kry nie omdat dit teen hul kultuur is. Ai, red nou n nasie met so klomp wat nie omgee of hul ander aansteek of nie. Probleem is as daardie kinders siek word wordhul nogal dood siek en gaan ook dood daarvan. Leer wil hul egter nie leer nie.

        • Comment by post author

          HesterLeyNel

          Ek begin dink soos wat tegnologie ontwikkel, word mense al hoe dommer.

        • Beslis. Die jonger geslag wil ook maar nie uit die verlede leer nie. Dis maar hoe die mensdom se koppe werk.

  4. Selfrespek dis waarop dit vir my neerkom.

    • Comment by post author

      HesterLeyNel

      Ja maar dit hang ook af van ‘n persoon se begrip van die konsep “selfrespek”. Diewe se selfrespek kry ‘n knou wanneer hulle nie genoeg steel nie; politici s’n wanneer hulle nie oortuigend lieg nie … jy weet. Hang af van die waardes waarvolgens jy grootgemaak is en leef.

  5. Thank you for sharing this information. 🙂 I wasn’t aware of the app!