Who are we?

These are the 3 initiators of LitterApp:

Fred Steenbergen

Hi, I’m Fred, a volunteer with LitterApp from the Netherlands. I pick up a lot of litter and use the app (website) regularly. Beyond that, I contribute by finding bugs, improving documentation, generating ideas, helping users, managing socials, and creating videos.

In my spare time, I stay active. My wife and I repurpose discarded materials into wooden objects, selling them to friends and family. The proceeds go to various charities—a win-win!

I also enjoy cycling and running, always picking up litter along the way.

I firmly believe every small effort helps make the world a better place. I’m proud to be part of a team dedicated to cleaning the planet and using LitterApp to document the impact.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Pieter Jan Hummelen

Walking with my dog (mainly in the Netherlands), I was frustrated about the litter I found in my neighbourhood. Considering our neighbourhood as an extension of our garden, I started to clean up. Inspired by different persons, I started making photos of litter and collecting data in 2017.

I've used different apps, but I've settled on using the LitterApp. To put in my photo's, tag them and do some analyses.

My work is partly my hobby too, so I'm the DevOps guy that's managing the LitterApp backend. Also helping as a product owner of the LitterApp application and integrations.

One of my hobbies is also (speed-) road cycling. When I'm on my bike, I stop only on rare occassions to pick up litter.

One piece at the time is a slogan I've heared more times ... and my litter picking is an daily addiction to me nowdays!

Geni Jaho

I'm a software engineer with a passion for software architecture and programming best practices. I'm not a litterpicker, but I support the work of Fred, Pieter, and the community in the way I know, building the website piece by piece, adding new features, and polishing existing ones.

But apart from these builders, we also have users and here are some of them:

In Memoriam: Frank Ogiamien

Frank (from Canada) was one of our first LitterApp-users and we are very happy that we have had the pleasure of meeting him. Frank loved litter and creating data about it, he was often in our meetups, always friendly, always smiling, modest but with so many ideas, it was always great having him around.

Unfortunately in 2024 his health detereorated dramatically and in the beginning of December, the inevitable happened.

He was loved by so many and will be missed by even more.

Thanks for your inspiration Frank, thanks for making a difference!

Axel

Hi I'm Axel, 55 years old (written in 2025), very happily married for 29 years and I live and work in Nieuw-Vennep / Netherlands.

It all started in 2012 during scuba diving in my favourite freshwater lake. This beautiful aquatic realm, I'm so very fond of, was infact tainted by litter. Especially lost fishing lines, which snares and drowns diving water fowl simply had to be removed.

I chose to take action. So, I organised dive events to clear litter from the bottom of the lake and that turned into a annual success for 10 years. As a group of many volunteers, we cleaned up a total of about 2600 kg just from one lake and hundreds of meters fishing lines plus 10 Kg of lead weights and lures. It took me until 2015 to see the amount of litter above water was increasing significantly too. That bothered me.

Instead of moping and complaining about it, I started picking litter. Then the #zwerfie concept came into the picture. Making a photo of a piece of litter and tagging it with #zwerfie and posting it on twitter. The Zwerfinator started to post his efforts and then I got really inspired to pick litter using a dedicated app. The mere idea that all picked litter became visible as dots on a map really got me going. Others and myself could actually see hotspots and popular brands on a map and items which ended up as litter. The aim became collecting data for a purpose, with a cleaner neighbourhood as a result. The Zwerfinator and the Plastic Soup Surfer stood up and came into action using this data from all litter pickers. They achieved awareness and foremost real change. They successfully convinced a candy manufacturer to use paper wrappers instead of plastic. Other "often found" litter followed with positive results even on a national level. Various laws passed which resulted in: No more plastic in fireworks, No more water balloons, Deposit / refund on cans and small bottles etcetera. That's the power of data.

Most special item ever found? Actually I found two lost wallets and special subscription glasses, which I was able to return to their very happy owners.

We all know about bacteria, fungi, insects and other organisms that break down organic matter. These are very important life forms and often with a bad reputation.

As litter pickers, we are those bacteria, fungi and insects of today's society that work diligently in silence. The bad reputation has faded, as more and more people care and take action. There is still a long way to go to reduce litter. Getting out as litter pickers, we have a chance to change the behaviour of people who aren't aware of the problem yet. Of course there are people that really don't care as their personal problems probably outweigh the litter problem. Then you realise how much litter is related to an addiction.

In the beginning, picking litter turned many heads as I was using my hands instead of a grabber and without wearing a high visibility vest. Some gave me the odd look, ignored me while passing me by, but most people are very kind and appreciative.

If you want to pick litter, don't be ashamed doing it. Don't be discouraged by the amount of litter you'll find on the same routes day after day. You simply need perseverance. Your efforts probably won't be seen or noticed by others, but using litterapp.net will make it visible as data that can be used in the near future. Just know, if one out of a hundred people changes his/hers/their behaviour by seeing you picking litter, that is worth a lot. You can't fix the problem on your own, but you can make difference. When do we ever thank bacteria, fungi or insects for their valuable work?

It's fun to pick cigarette butts around people that are actually smoking. I only say hello.They get a bit nervous sometimes, especially when the cigarette is almost burnt up. They suddenly remember how to put out the butt and dispose of it in a litter bin. They sometimes even claim they always do that. No matter what, I thank them kindly.

There was a period when I couldn't walk passed litter without picking it up. A compulsive and obsessive behaviour started to rear its ugly head. I was able to solve that rather quickly by putting it in perspective. It's sometimes okay to leave litter (only when wind has no grip on it) and find out, you're not the only litter picker.

I've been active in a neighbourhood cleanup group for about 4-5 years. We did cleanups on a monthly basis. It was nice to see people overcoming the shame of picking litter in a group.

People are very susceptible to convenience. Before the "To Go" culture, no one missed it, nobody asked for it. Nowadays some people can't seem to live without it. We can't stop that "ToGo" culture anymore, which is one of the main causes of litter. We can only try to convince and/or demand the enablers of the ToGo products to use real sustainable materials or reduce on materials used. Sometimes a law is required to reach that goal.

Another way to change behaviour is to give litter a monetary value like deposit/ refund money on cans and bottles. For me that makes a difference as there is litteraly money lying on the street. You know people still throw cans and bottles on the street as € 0,15 is nothing to them. Recently I found 100 beer bottles in one go of €0,10 each. On average, my wife and I collect about 1 to 2 Euro's per week.

Movies can influence people. So there is one more thing to think about. Have you ever seen a movie, where a smoker on the street puts out a cigarette and disposes it in a litter bin? Probably one of the reasons you'll find so many butts on the streets worldwide.

Happy picking all!

Axel

Peter

In summer, I usually start between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m.; in winter, it depends on when it gets light.

I always begin at the sports park, a walk of about 3.5 kilometers. That usually fills one or two bags of litter each day.

There’s a school in the park, and the parking lot is a popular hangout spot, and a major source of litter. By then, I’ve often already taken 150 to 250 photos.

After breakfast, I go out again on different routes, preferably in nature. But this morning, the Old Meuse river area got too busy again, so I headed back home.

The strangest thing I’ve ever found? In the willow forests along the Old Meuse, I once came across a full silicone lower body — buttocks and vagina. Unbelievable.

I started doing this a few years ago because the sports park looked terrible. I had already spent several years magnet fishing and using a metal detector, but that group fell apart. Cleaning up litter is something you can easily do on your own, close to home.

My wife sometimes joins me when we head to the Maasvlakte or the Old Meuse, but most of the time I go alone. I do occasionally join other groups, Zwerfie Rotterdam is the biggest one. Last Saturday, we had a booth about litter in downtown Rotterdam. There weren’t many kids this time, but there was a lot of interest from other people.

Luke

Luke MacDonald (Canada): The Man Behind the #WorldLitterRun Movement You know that person who sees a problem and instead of just talking about it, actually does something? That's Luke MacDonald in a nutshell. For 45 years, he's been deeply involved in the sporting goods world, including 18 years as a partner at Aerobics First - but these days, you're more likely to find him picking up litter than selling running shoes. Luke's journey into the world of litter cleaning started with a simple realization: traditional approaches to cleaning up communities weren't working for everyone. While others were writing checks (which is great!), Luke was thinking about how to get everyone involved, regardless of their bank account balance. That's how the #WorldLitterRun was born - a movement that turns everyday people into cleanup heroes. The concept is beautifully simple: you pick up litter, and that physical action unlocks corporate donations to charities. No money required from you - just your time and effort. What makes Luke's approach different is his deep belief in what he calls "democratizing sweatanthropy" - meaning everyone can be a philanthropist through their sweat and effort, not just their wallet. When you join a #WorldLitterRun event, you're not just cleaning up - you're directly funding positive change through your actions. Luke has become a weekly user and supporter of LitterApp because it's the perfect tool to power this vision. It helps track the impact, connect communities, and prove that those small actions - one piece of litter at a time - really do add up to massive change. So if you see someone out there with a grabber and a big smile, picking up trash and actually making it look fun - that might be Luke. He's living proof that cleaning up our world doesn't have to be a chore; it can be a movement that everyone can join.