Trashketball By: Mark Nouhan

Overview I asked 50 people; If there was a basketball hoop connected to a trash can, would you be more likely to pick it up and throw it away? 78% of people said yes, and 22% of people said no. This lead me to believe that Trashketball would be a success.

Action Plan  Trashketball will make Blue Valley West a much cleaner place. Students will leave less trash on the ground because of this new, entertaining way to throw away garbage. We will need to have a school fundraiser to earn the amount of money we need to implement Trashketball into the school. This money will help us to install basketball hoops and place trash cans in various places outside of the school. With weekly check-ups on the Trashketball systems, Blue Valley West will be looking cleaner than ever.

Environmental Impact This program will decrease the amount of littering at Blue Valley West because people will want to throw away the garbage rather than leaving it on the ground. According to a study, 75% of people admitted that they littered in the past 5 years. We want to decrease that percentage and convince everyone to stop leaving trash on the ground.

Implementation To Install the 10 basketball hoops, it needs to be sturdy to withstand bad weather. The Pro Dunk Platinum basketball hoop can withstand bad weather and is very durable. We will connect it to the building and light posts in the parking lot with multiple screws and bolts. For the trash cans, we will use the Ultra Play Systems Metal Outdoor Trash Can.  To encourage people even more, we will put up signs around the school and on the basketball backboards to let them know that throwing away trash instead of littering is helping the environment.

Fundraising We will need $12,500 to fund the program. We will have a carnival at the school. There will be raffle tickets for $2 each, and 10 tickets for $15. The prizes will include college basketball tickets, being a water boy or towel boy for college games, basketballs, basketball hoops, and NBA merchandise. It will also include a 3-point contest, that people pay $15 to get into. Whoever makes the most shots gets 3 tickets to a NBA game. The carnival will also include mini-games such as shooting a free throw or shooting the ball with your eyes closed, and you can win small prizes such as small toy basketballs and basketball stickers.

Maintenance We will go to the trash cans weekly and collect the trash. We will also put a new garbage bag into the trash cans every week and make sure the basketball backboard and hoop are clean and in good shape. Also, if the trash bag is torn or smells bad, it will be replaced. There will be a volunteer group that takes out all the garbage and makes sure the basketball hoop is still in good shape. To get people to volunteer, we will put up posters around the school saying what we will be doing and the benefits of volunteering, such as getting ice cream after doing the work, or going to a basketball game at the end of the year that we would pay for.

Sources Brown, T. J., Ham, S. H., & Hughes, M. (2010). Picking up litter: an application of theory-based communication to influence tourist behavior in protected areas. Journal Of Sustainable Tourism, 18(7), 879-900. doi:10.1080/09669581003721281 Cruice-Barnett, M. (2012, November 29). Littering and its Effect on the Environment. Science Leadership Academy Learn, Create, Lead. Retrieved May 3, 2015.   King, L. (2013, November 18). 9 Interesting Facts and Statistics about Littering. Litter. It costs you. Retrieved May 3, 2015.