PlogChain

Photo submission page
Heat map page
Destination page

Inspiration

Growing up by the famous beaches of Jeju, I saw massive cleanups at my favorite beaches, only for them to get back to their previous state within days.
Existing cleanup posts get lost on social media, and people can lie about cleanups, making it hard to verify the true impact of cleanups.
We wanted a tool that makes small, frequent cleanups easy to coordinate and trust
See the impact within the wider world

What it does

Shows nearby cleanup needs and suggests the closest good spot
Let anyone with a login upload before/after proof
Updates a live heat map of trash clean-up
Issue verifiable credits/badges for volunteers and teams

How we built it

Frontend: Google Maps (HeatmapLayer, Directions), image capture, HTML, CSS
Verification: GPS+timestamp match, QR session code in photos, perceptual hash/SSIM
Backend: Node/Express, Postgres, Mapshaper

Challenges we ran into

Connecting frontend and backend
Creating locational method to locate and document cleanups – our initial ideas of making squares along - the coastline faced issues due to the file sizes of the GeoJSON objects we edited

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building an original website
Learning skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, and geographic information systems (GIS)
Learning to use APIs to bring our website to life!

What we learned

If the backend doesn’t work, nothing moves forward
Clean steps beat complex models
Utilizing the existing API enhances the program quickly
Third-party tools can be both a game changer, a time sink, or a false path of hope

What's next for PlogChain

Fully implementing a blockchain to allow permanent verification and a ledger for cleanups! Expanding the backend so that it is far more robust SMS/WhatsApp join links and QR check-in at sites School/NGO leaderboards and monthly impact summaries Expand beyond coasts to rivers, trails, and parks Actually implement transaction processes for credits to users