Reward LA: Recycle. Play. Redeem.
Reward LA is a recycling initiative developed by Team GRAM, a team consisting of design, marketing, and human factors students at California State University, Long Beach. The goal of the Reward LA initiative is to supply the Downtown Los Angeles area of Broadway between Third and Eighth Streets with recycling bins and incentives that will further encourage recycling in the community and to increase communication about recycling. To do so, Team GRAM proposes having Big Belly recycling bins provided by the city, which will be distributed in the area near regular trash bins. These bins restrict people from scavenging through them and will keep count of the number of recyclables collected in each individual bin. These recycling bins shall have QR codes that the user can scan to keep track of the points that they collect from recycling aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles in the specified containers. Users can access a map of other bins around the area and promotional graphics for community vendors involved in and supporting the Reward LA initiative on their cellular phones or tablets by using the Reward LA application. The application will include customizable user profiles that will allow users to keep track of their earnings, share their recycling progress on social media, form teams, challenge other teams, cash their earnings, and complete daily, weekly, and monthly quest goals. User profiles will be able to accommodate both businesses in the area and consumers by customizing the profile depending on the type of user the person is. The application can be used with an accompanying website that shall manage the whole Reward LA program and will also contain the same features as the mobile application along with the program’s goals, vision, mission, and background information regarding the Reward LA recycling initiative.