Waste management has become a major environmental issue in South Africa. According to
UNEP Report (2020), South Africa is estimated to generate domestically a total of 12.7
million tonnes of waste per annum. In the country, municipalities are facing increasing
pressures and challenges to provide waste management services due to the growing waste
generation.
It is against this background that the Social TV Foundation has developed PickItUp, a recycling
game that seeks to create positive habits and perceptions on how we deal with waste.
PickItUp focuses on waste management, disposal, recycling and anti-littering campaigns.
The game shares how-to tips and relevant information when it comes to the impact that one
conscious act can have on the planet.
An estimated 3 billion hours are currently spent on gaming every week. Games engage
consumers and build value around products and services, creating a powerful competitive
advantage.
Successful products and services identify and understand our deeply seated natural
tendencies and the ways in which they can be used to change our behaviour. By leveraging
game-like mechanisms to satisfy these needs and tendencies, we can create a behavioural
change across a broad spectrum of pressing issues, from healthcare and finances to
philanthropy and conservation.
According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: “Waste collection and
management are essential public services for every community and are necessary for the
protection of public health and the environment”.
Therefore, inspiring positive behavioural change is a key driver of customer engagement,
brand loyalty, and sustained market growth, hence PickItUp comes in as one of the many
ways to inspire change in waste management and treatment.
The Social TV Foundation is a brainchild of Social TV (www.social-tv.co.za) an online multimedia news channel covering CSI/CSR and Shared Value initiatives. The Social TV
Foundation realises the power of technology and media to facilitate unique interventions that speak to how audiences consume and engage with technology today.
PickitUp is available in on Apple, Android and Amazon. The architecture and software is
100% developed in South Africa. The mobile technology is stable, secure and scalable to millions of views.
The game player can be branded & customized for municipalities, organizations, and
companies to have any number of active channels to the content that is relevant to the aims
and goals of the user.
