Westminster and Camden councils have laid out plans to use QR codes on the sides of public waste bins to promote recycling.
Currently the London councils have the biggest street litter problem in the UK, with 25,000 tonnes of litter produced every year. And the problem with this is that only around 10% of it is currently recycled.
The new scheme will see QR codes attached to the sides of recycle bins, which users can scan with their smartphones. They are then entered into a daily prize draw where they can win a £20 voucher.
The councils have been looking for new ways to communicate with residents and because around 60% of people in these areas have a smartphone they decided this was a viable option. It was also highlighted that the scheme would target males in the age group 18-35 who are generally not loyal recyclers, so would increase their awareness of recycling.
The codes have been on the bins since May and have already attracted a lot of attention with many residents commenting that the idea is extremely innovative.
Andrew Cook who is the waste and recycling officer for the councils came up with the scheme, he said:
“There is a huge expanding market for mobile devices. You need to ask, how else can you communicate with users of your services?”
The scheme will run until September 2012.