Operatie Z.U.I.V.E.R app

Deploying a game to combat street litter. We received this assignment from the municipality of Hollands Kroon, the largest municipality in the Netherlands. In co-creation, we came up with Operation Z.U.I.V.E.R.: an exciting serious game in which primary and secondary school pupils compete against each other to keep the streets of Hollands Kroon clean.

Neat and tidy

In the Operation Z.U.I.V.E.R. Serious Game, we apply gamification to motivate and inform a young target group about litter. For picking up litter, the player is rewarded: in an Augmented Reality representation of the municipality, the surrounding area is assigned to the player. A kind of capture the flag, where the player can capture areas on the map. Then other players can take back the territory won. Through gamification, players are not only motivated but also informed about the kind of waste they pick up and how it can be recycled. They also get points for this which they can use to change their virtual character, for a personal and unique look within the game.

Primary schools fight against litter and each other

Operation Z.U.I.V.E.R. was launched in October 2021 with its first annual campaign: litter week. Primary schools in Hollands Kroon were invited to participate with their own school team. This allowed pupils to see among themselves who cleaned up the most litter, and encouraged healthy competition between schools. The first campaign week was a great success: no fewer than 6,000 pieces of litter were cleaned up.

Valuable insights for the municipality

Besides motivating and informing the players, the solution is also used as an innovative way to collect valuable insights about litter within the municipality. In a customised back-end system, the municipality is provided with a real-time heatmap of where litter is found and what types of litter occur where. With these insights, the municipality can target its resources: a great example of data-driven action.

In-house management

The solution can be managed completely independently by the municipality of Hollands Kroon. With a customised Content Management System (CMS), the municipality can manage users, invite and manage schools, and indicate areas where the game is not available. This way, we ensure player safety.

Do you have a solution where gamification can play a role in motivating, rewarding and informing? Or would you like to know more about Operation Z.U.I.V.E.R.? Feel free to contact us with no obligation.