A turning point for the Click: 200,000 pieces of litter collected or prevented
"Results prove that a reward system on a national scale can have an impact on public cleanliness"
Evere, - The Click has exceeded 200,000 scans on its application in little over a year. The project to combat litter has sky-rocketed since this summer. The figures show that people are really becoming aware of the problem and that with the right rewards, results can be achieved. Fost Plus is coming back on this ambitious project which encourages everyone to change their behaviour in order to fight litter.
Launched at the beginning of the summer of 2021, first in Antwerp (June 2021) and then in De Haan (July 2021), the Click then conquered the city of Namur (September 2021) as well as some other coastal towns, the municipality of Anderlecht (Januay 2022) and, more recently, the city of Tournai (October 2022). But that’s not all... The iClick invited itself to events such as the Eneco Clean Beach Cup, the cycling championships, and festivals like Les Solidarités and to businesses, where veritable communities of “clickers” have been established. Various partnerships have also seen the light of day, including ones with Natuurpunt/Natagora, with MNM radio, which has been motivating everyone to “click” on the beach and the seafronts all summer long, and with the famous coastal tram, which rode up and down the coast boasting the colours of the Click.
What is the Click?
The Click is a new approach to fighting litter. The Click is thus a participatory project that uses a form of compensation to encourage citizens to adopt good practices when it comes to litter. The objective is clear: to improve cleanliness in public spaces.
How does it work? Thanks to the smartphone application, all you need to do is scan - or photograph - any packaging of consumer items on the go or any waste picked up on the street and throw it into the appropriate bin. And bingo, the game’s up! The user saves Circular UCoins, which are virtual points that can be traded in at one of the partners.
A project that has proven its worth
Wim Geens, Managing Director of Fost Plus, states: “The project has already proven its worth, since in just over a year, more than 200,000 Clicks were made, even though the Click is still in a start-up phase. Each Click helps prevent waste from ending up in the natural environment and offers an opportunity to incorporate this waste packaging into the recycling chain, thanks to the additional sorting of the contents of public waste bins.” And that is, of course, the aim, since the project is clearly part of the policy of circular economy that seeks to meet ambitious Belgian and European objectives. “To bring the latter packaging from out-of-home consumption into the recycling chain as well, we need to go a step further. These figures prove that a reward system can contribute to this...”
The analyses demonstrate that 20 to 25% of the contents of street waste bins consist of recyclable PMD, which was burned along with the residual waste. In the active partner municipalities, we are therefore setting up all the logistical infrastructure needed to sort this PMC out of the residual waste so that it can be recycled with the bags from the door-to-door collection.
“At Fost Plus, our aim is to offer a recycling solution for every type of packaging brought to market”, added Wim Geens,“not only by sorting at home, in which Belgians are already champions, but also by collecting as much packaging as possible outside the home, to close the loop.”
Find out more
Go to www.the-click.be
Download the application via Google Play or the App Store