A Startup That Gives You Free WiFi Whenever You Throw Garbage in a Bin | Hacker News Reader

A Startup That Gives You Free WiFi Whenever You Throw Garbage in a Bin

thebetterindia.com

16 pointsdhimant15 comments

Won't this just encourage users to create more garbage?

If I am in need of wifi, and I have no garbage, I would need to create garbage (buy a juice, snack etc) to get the wifi, even if I wasn't thirsty or hungry

I think what you are describing is called the Cobra Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_effect

there's an effect for everything these days eh

They could probably pivot into recycling and compost bins without much difficulty.

Reminds me of Disneyland where all the trashcans say "Waste Please".

Dolphins found a way to con a similar system:

"When people drop paper into the water she hides it under a rock at the bottom of the pool. The next time a trainer passes, she goes down to the rock and tears off a piece of paper to give to the trainer. After a fish reward, she goes back down, tears off another piece of paper, gets another fish, and so on."

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/jul/03/research.scie...

If the WiFi drops out, can you retrieve your trash and throw it back in the street?

Can't you just stick your hand or a stick inside it and wave it about until the access code pops up?

Can't we just use the stick to smack the kids (and grownups, unfortunately) when they litter these places? :/

Edit: Look, I'm all for non-violent education but does everything have to be a game rewarding people for not being jackasses?

I agree, but all that means is that we are both privileged enough to live in places that are not already buried in garbage.

Aren't you just describing a game with a discouraging action rather than an encouraging one?

Considering that positive reinforcement is way more effective than positive punishment, yes.

Why do you think it is that some cultures trash the commons (Paris, Berlin, Antwerp, Brussels) and others don't (London, Tokyo, Singapore)?

Since we are doing kinda root cause analysis, why don't we just ask the companies to use materials that are environmentally degradable and disposable?

I firmly believe that wifi should be free on a country level and everywhere. Cleaning garbage is a good way to crowdsourcing a clean city

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