GREEN COIN
Juliana Castrillon (Harvard), Alan Wong (Harvard), Léon Faure (CRI), Lin Sun (SciencesPo)
How often do you think about what you throw away? Better yet, how often do you think about where it ends up? GreenCoin explores the thoughtless disposal of food: a biodegradable goldmine that is often overlooked as a renewable resource. Each year, Parisians toss millions of tons of biowaste into their trash cans because they lack better options. The biowaste is then condemned to incineration and contributes to rising atmospheric CO2 levels.
Inspired by the kidney’s ability to reclaim and reuse bodily waste, we envision a world in which citizens are rewarded for taking environmentally friendly actions, and in which those rewards encourage further green actions. To establish this self-perpetuating cycle of sustainability, we propose the creation of an alternative currency: Green Coin.
GreenCoin will be awarded for taking ‘green’ actions, whether it be engaging in local environmental initiatives or participating in environmental education. In the future it will expand to facilitate the exchange of food waste and compost for fresh produce. Partnerships with the government and ‘green’ companies will then encourage citizens to use the currency on eco-friendly products. By involving both the public and private sectors, GreenCoin becomes a self-propagating driver for a more environmentally sustainable world.
