ごみを拾って仮想通貨ゲット、商品と交換　ゲーム感覚のイスラエル新アプリ

【ハイファＡＦＰ＝時事】イスラエル北部の沿岸都市ハイファで、エリシャ・ベンマイアーさん（１８）は飼い犬の散歩をしながら近所のごみ拾いをしている。新しく立ち上げられたアプリを使って、集めたごみを商品に交換するためだ。（写真はイスラエル北部ハイファ近郊で、愛犬の散歩中にごみ拾いをするエリシャ・ベンマイアーさん）
　ごみをぎっしり詰めた袋１個につき、仮想通貨「クリーン・コイン」１０枚前後を獲得できる。コインをためると、協賛企業の商品と引き換えられる。
　イスラエルは１人当たりのごみ排出量が世界で最も多い国の一つ。国民にごみ拾いを奨励するのが、この取り組みの目的だ。
　集めたごみの袋を近所のごみ捨て場に廃棄する前に、ベンマイアーさんは成果を写真に撮影する。この日のごみはコイン３０枚ほどになった。
　ハイファを拠点とする「クリーン・コイン」の共同創設者で最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）のアダム・ラン氏（３５）は、アプリを見せながら「地図上の黒い点が、ユーザーから報告のあったごみの位置だ」と説明した。「写真からごみの量や場所が正確に把握でき、回収するのにごみ袋が何枚ぐらい必要か、コイン何枚分に相当するかが分かる」
　同社によると、アプリには既に１万６０００人以上が登録し、うち約１２００人が毎週ごみ拾いをしている。
　同じく共同創設者でテクニカルディレクターを務めるガル・ラハト氏（２１）は、アプリ設計に当たっては遊び心を大事にしたと語った。ユーザーはポイントを集め、レベルアップできる。「他のユーザーと競い合えるだけでなく、ゲーム感覚でごみを探しに行けるようにした」
　クリーン・コインは、電力消費の激しい「採掘（マイニング）」が必要な暗号資産ではなく、クーポン券に近い。ラン氏によれば、既に２５ブランド余りが協賛し、服飾品の他に屋内クライミング施設やホテル利用などとのコイン交換が可能となっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/11/19-12:06）

As she walked her dog Luna near her northern Israel town, Elishya Ben Meir collected litter that had been reported through a new app which turns garbage into goods.
For each bag she fills in the valley near her home, she receives around 10 Clean Coins, a virtual currency that can be redeemed for goods from participating businesses.
The green scheme aims to encourage citizens to pick up trash in a country ranked among the world's leading litter producers per capita.
As soon as I get out to the valley, I see trash wherever I look, said Ben Meir, 18.
People drink, barbecue and leave all their garbage outside. It's really unpleasant.
Before throwing her bags of garbage into a nearby bin, Ben Meir snapped pictures of her day's haul, which was worth around 30 Clean Coins.
Each black dot on the map represents waste reported by a user, said Adam Ran, 35, co-founder and CEO of Clean Coin, demonstrating the app in his office in the northern port city of Haifa.
By viewing the photos, I can really see the amount of trash, where exactly the trash is located, how many bags are approximately needed in order to collect it, and the amount of credit.
The company said more than 16,000 users had already signed up, of whom some 1,200 are active each week.
- 'Everyone has an interest' -
Gal Lahat, 21, co-founder and technical director, said he designed the app to be playful, with users earning points and unlocking different levels.
You can see your progress compared to other users, but also when you search for the trash in the field, we want it to look like a game, Lahat said.
The compensation adds an incentive for people to get outside and clean up, he said.
Nature benefits from it, and I also get a small personal benefit for myself that gives me motivation, Ben Meir said, before she exchanged her Clean Coins for a T-shirt at a Haifa branch of the surf shop Billabong.
Clean Coin is not a cryptocurrency, with energy-intensive mining of coins that requires massive computer power.
Instead, it is a kind of voucher to reward trash collection.
More than 25 brands have joined the network, Ran said, allowing users to redeem coins for clothes, indoor climbing and hotel stays, among other options.
Some supermarkets are poised to join, he added.
The virtual currency is subsidised by several private and public organisations, in particular municipalities and regional councils that see Clean Coin as a tool to optimise waste management.
Everyone has an interest in it, Ran said.
- 'Produce less waste' -
Amiad Lapidot, solid waste expert at environmental advocacy group Adam Teva V'Din, called Clean Coin a very good thing in one of the countries which produces the most waste per capita.
Israelis generate an average of 1.7 kilograms (3.7 pounds) of waste per person per day, compared to an average of 1.4 kilograms per person per day in European countries, he told AFP.
In all, Israel produces around one million tonnes of plastic waste per year, which represents about 18 percent of the total waste in the country, he said. That compares to a rate of 12 percent in European countries.
Lapidot said Israelis tend to use and toss plastic bags and packaging, which pollute its coasts and green spaces, and they strongly rely on disposable dishes.
He said Clean Coin could help amplify the effects of government actions his group is promoting, such as extending existing laws levying a deposit on bottles.
Still, he said, it is only a start.
We must also absolutely find a way to produce less waste, Lapidot said.