Project Description
'Cleaner Communities' is designed to be an app which the populous can use to take rate the level of litter in the area they are in and take photos of said litter. These photos can then get sent off to a machine learning type AI that can analyse the photos to identify the amount of litter. For every report on different areas that a citizen makes they receive a number of points, which can be kept as a type of 'score' to compare with others, or spent to receive certain rewards, including gift cards and such for local businesses (the cards paid for by the government/local council(s) hosting the app). Because the monetary rewards are gift cards for local businesses, despite money being given to the people that money can only go back into the local economy, stimulating growth. Other rewards could include tree saplings and seeds for indigenous plants.
The data collected could then be used by the local/regional/state authorities to better determine where to distribute their resources to clean up areas, particularly areas where tourism is high. The points system could also be used to encourage participation in events, along a similar vein to Clean Up Australia Day. These events could help give a sense of community as people participate, potentially eventually becoming a cultural event in its own right.
The app would additionally contain links to various data-reinforced information about the state of litter and cleanliness of the region/state, as well as show where proper waste and recycling facilities are located relative to the users position. For such locations, the app would use Open Street Map, due to it being open data. Google Maps is another possibility, but would likely require licensing.