CLEAN-UP campaigners are set to put Leamington on the ‘Litterati’ map.
Environmental organisation Clean up Britain is urging residents to clean up for the greater good as part of its anti-litter campaign Now or Never.
Its new ‘Street Activist project’ encourages people to snap pictures of litter they find and upload it to the ‘Litterati Global Map’.
The map was created by US entrepreneur Jeff Kirschner after he began taking pictures of litter he came across and binned, and found seeing the results helped him realise the difference he was making.
He decided to create an app where ‘geotags’ would mark the litter collected in towns and cities across the world on a virtual map.
The information is used to identify what type of litter is more prevalent in a certain area, from cigarettes and wrappers to bottles and coffee cups, as well as the brands they belong to.
And it proved a useful tool after data on the amount of cigarette butts littering streets in San Francisco prompted a rise in tax on cigarette sales.
Other tasks encouraged by the project include cutting out single-use items such as coffee cups, bottles and straws, joining litter picking events and reporting litter hot spots.
Clean up Britain spokeswoman Rachel Campbell said: “We’re delighted to launch the Street Activist project, in response to lots of people asking ‘what can I do?’
“Our Street Activist hub has lots of options and ideas about how people can get involved in the fight against litter, use less single-use plastic, recycle more and find like-minded people, groups and events.
“This is for anyone who wants to do something for their local environment in the knowledge that they are part of a bigger group of people who are doing the same.
“We’re kicking off with a challenge for people to download the Litterati app which empowers people to ‘crowdsource-clean’ the planet, one piece of litter at a time. “No-one is using the app in Leamington yet and we want to get our town on the global map.”
The Now or Never campaign is the first of its kind being trialled in Leamington. So far it has included posters showing images of animals injured by metal cans and plastic and encouraging businesses to commit to reduce plastic packaging or switch to biodegradable materials.
The campaign also aims to educate young people.
Search ‘Leamington Street Activist Project’ on Facebook to find out more about the project and www.litterati.org for more information on the Litterati map.
