Trash Tycoon Launches on Facebook
A new game on Facebook is the first to highlight the concept of upcycling, where trash is turned into valuable products rather than thrown away.
Manhattan-based startup Guerillapps created Trash Tycoon, where players take the role of recycling entrepreneurs. They collect litter in a trash strewn city and upcycle the waste into higher quality, environmentally responsible products. They earn points and can ultimately earn the title of garbage tycoon.
The game’s trash-tackling premise directly mirrors that of sponsor TerraCycle in the real world.
"Something as simple as a social game where players earn points for recycling in the real world is capable of changing people’s behavior for the better," says Raviv Turner, co-founder and CEO of Guerillapps. "We’ve organically integrated real-world recycling goals into the game to ensure that players have fun and see Trash Tycoon first and foremost as a game, while at the same time presenting a proactive approach for more mindful actions as users approach real-life situations with acquired knowledge from Trash Tycoon."
Guerillapps says it plans to apply Trash Tycoon’s real-world approach to other areas like health, fitness and energy.
In June, Recyclebank published a whitepaper with Google explaining lessons the company has learned about changing environmental behavior thorugh contests and games.
Find Endangered Species Wherever You Are
Another free app, this one for Android mobile phones, allows people to find endangered animals and plants wherever they are (or anywhere in the US) in just a few taps.
"Species Finder" is the latest creative media project from the Center for Biological Diversity, which also provides hundreds of free ringtones featuring the calls and other sounds of endangered species.
The app allows people to instantly connect with endangered species where people live or while traveling. The Center hopes it will spark peoples’ interest in their survival.
"Species Finder" works through the Android phones’ GPS to call up a comprehensive list of all threatened and endangered species in whatever county users are passing through. It also has links for more information about each plant or animal.
"Whether you’re a kid with a passion for wildlife, a birdwatcher looking for rare birds, a natural history buff or just a tourist who wants to explore the local landscape, you’ll be able to call up information about these extraordinary animals in a few keystrokes," says Peter Galvin, the Center’s conservation director.
The app features a link to the Center’s wildly popular endangered species ringtones, which have been downloaded more than 470,000 times in 150 countries. The ringtones include the eerie warble of the Puerto Rican crested toad to the gray wolf and the Okinawa dugong.
The app also includes the latest news from the Center for Biological Diversity and ways to help save endangered species.
Download "Species Finder" at the Android Marketplace or at the Center’s website. You’ll find Trash Tycoon here:
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