Greenopolis, a US initiative which rewards users for recycling, has launched a photo sharing app for Android and iOS. As per the video above, RecyclePix is aimed at encouraging social media users to substitute ‘lame’ (their word, not mine) vanity shots taken in front of the mirror and instead take photographs of themselves actively recycling.

Users earn Greenopolis reward points each time they share a recycling picture to their Twitter or Facebook accounts. These points are part of the wider Greenopolis scheme, which allows them to be exchanged for items such as cinema tickets, travel and coupon-based special offers exclusively for Greenopolis members.

Greenopolis operates kiosks in the US which identify the items being recycled and allocate reward points to the users.

The MEX community has recently been exploring this issue as part of MEX Pathway #7 (‘Express sustainable values in user experience’). The Pathway #7 sessions at the May 2011 MEX highlighted how most users are still motivated by obvious and immediate financial reward rather than a purely altruistic view of sustainability. Mobile devices, which are inherently tied to individual identity, provide a useful link for sustainability schemes, allowing rewards to be easily credited the individual. Tapping into the input mechanisms of mobile devices, such as using cameras for barcode scanning, also helps users to identify where and how to recycle particular products.