Solutions

Trash boats

People in boats pick up the trash in the water during the market and the market people can put their trash in bags and hand these to the boat people so it’s easy to expose of waste. This will make water a transport place of trash instead of a dumping place.

Paid cleaners/community service

During the market paid cleaners or people with community service can clean the litter that people throw on the ground or the market people don’t clean up. For people with community service this means that they will be done earlier with their service. And paid cleaners will know better how to clean, so this will make sure the market will actually get clean.

More bins

Place more bins around Leiden and clean them more often so the trash doesn’t fall on the floor and people can actually throw their trash away. Decorate some bins with famous people from Leiden so it becomes more inviting to throw trash away.

Fence netting

Portable fences with nets on them to stop plastic from falling in the water because of the wind. They can be put down in holes in the ground or the nets can be tied to the fences that are already there. The holes will be purposely drilled between the bricks, so that the fence is locked in place, but also easy to remove.

Canal hooks

Hooks made out of rubber which can be hung on the side of the canal during the market so that the market people can hang their trash bags so that the garbage boats can pick them up. There will be hooks at two levels for when the water level rises. They will be made out of rubber so they don’t damage the boats. These hooks will be permanent.

Lamppost hooks

Hooks that can be hung on a lamppost. So that the market people can hang them up and the cleaners can take them away easily. The bags will be made in yellow because yellow doesn’t attract seagulls. These hooks are only hung there on market days, so they have to be easily removable. To be really sure that sea gulls can’t get in the bags, they will have lids on them. And the bags will be made out of an extra strong material.

Communication

For communication we made an Instagram account called: @trashmemesleiden. We also made a trick shot video in which they show different ways to throw your trash away. We also made a meme wall to put on the market. Furthermore we made a plan to make a frame statue in which will function as a nice throw their trash. Finally we made a logo for the Instagram account.

Instagram account

On the account we posted multiple memes about trash and not littering. We want to keep posting memes to keep young people aware of the waste problem. Also we made posters to get people to look up the account and get followers. We chose to make a meme account because young people like memes better than informational accounts, and the chance that they will keep following.

Trick shot-video

The trick shot video is a video called “Weird ways to throw away your trash” in which you can see different ways to throw away your garbage. A lot of young people like to watch YouTube video’s, therefore we thought that making one would remind a lot of people to throw their garbage in the bin.

Statue

The statue will be a frame which will function as a big bin, so people will be allowed to put their trash in the frame. This way people will contribute to a statue and we hope that this will make people think about where they leave their trash. The statue will be placed on a central point in Leiden, so that it will be seen a lot and make people aware of the amount of trash we generate.

Meme wall

The meme wall is a wall which can be put on when the market is there. On this wall we will put memes for people to read. Because people will be reminded of throwing garbage in the bin, on the market they will more often throw their garbage in the bin. This way there will be less waste on the streets to be blown in the canals. The wall will be two by two meters, and can be broken down into smaller pieces, so it can easily be stored.

Conclusion

As you could read in this report the waste problem in Leiden is severe. Our groups have worked hard on trying to solve these problems efficiently. With the solution to the candy routes as seen above we create more awareness about the problem along with the memes. For the problems with the market we feel that the solutions we have created will help to reduce the plastic waste along with helping the market people to throw away the waste properly. We have also tried to make these solutions as achievable as possible.

Be part of the solution, not the pollution.