Team Name

B&C

Team Members

Project Description

The Problem

Around four billion kilograms of plastic is produced annually. 90% of it isn’t recycled. This is a major issue to our health and the environment.
Plastic: ◆ Never goes away ◆ Affects human health ◆ Spoils our groundwater ◆ Attracts other pollutants ◆ Threatens wildlife ◆ Piles up in the environment ◆ Poisons our food chain ◆ Costs billions of dollars to abate.

Project Goals

The goal of project urTrash is to make people aware of how much plastic waste they are responsible for. We hope that by doing this, we can encourage everyone to make a small change to the way they approach single-use plastics - both in Plastic Free July, and beyond.

How Does It Work?

urTrash is an Augmented-Reality experience for mobile phones (running Android) that helps you visualise the amount of rubbish you’ll generate in your lifetime. We calculate the amount of rubbish you’ll generate by asking you questions and comparing your responses to various open datasets - you can read about it more in the ‘Data Story’ section below.
After viewing your estimated lifetime rubbish generation, we’ll let you know much of a difference you could make by simply making a few small lifestyle changes to reduce the total amount of waste generated. We hope that by allowing people to visualise how much waste they produce, we can encourage them to participate in Plastic Free July and to make different lifestyle choices in regards to single-use plastics.

Increasing Engagement [With Men]

By distributing this as a mobile app, we’re able to reach a much wider demographic than by traditional means. This AR experience could even be distributed as a Snapchat filter or Facebook camera filter to further promote Plastic Free July. Furthermore, we’d be able to specifically target groups who may be less inclined to take part through digital marketing, such as men.
If everyone makes a small change, together we can make a huge difference. We’ll all benefit from cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities.

Data Story

The Data

Links to the datasets we’ve used can be found in the ‘Team DataSets’ section below.

How We Use It

Using data provided by Encycle and the City of Ballarat. We are able to calculate the typical amount of waste produced by a person based on their age, gender, and how they respond to a number of questions. We match their responses to people who have previously conducted surveys regarding their waste habits, and reported on their typical amount of waste. The ‘Ballarat Kerbside Bin Collections’ dataset allows us to see how often landfill, recycling, and food waste bins are collected - which allows us to better calculate how much waste a person will produce in their lifetime.