Making Litter Insightful with Custom Software: the Zwerfafvalkompas

GoClean conducts professional field measurements and supports governments, companies, and schools with reliable data, analyses, and advice. Citizen science plays an important role in this approach: through coordinated research projects, engaged citizens contribute to structured data collection.

All data is brought together in the Zwerfafvalkompas, making trends and patterns visible and enabling insights to be translated into policy and targeted measures. Their mission goes beyond cleanup alone: to contribute structurally to a cleaner living environment through insight and awareness.

The challenge

Initially, GoClean used the Litterati platform to register litter. While this helped with data collection, the dashboard proved too generic and the data insufficiently representative. In addition, GoClean had no ownership over the data. There was a clear need for a proprietary system that could provide deeper insight at street level, with advanced filtering capabilities and full control over the data.

The solution

In close collaboration with GoClean, Harbers Solutions developed the Zwerfafvalkompas: a custom portal that enables GoClean to register, enrich, and analyze litter data. Field workers and citizen scientists register litter via the GoClean app, after which the data flows directly into the Zwerfafvalkompas.

The solution is built using .NET technology and an MSSQL database, and supports advanced search functionality based on geo‑location and metadata linked to individual litter items. Thanks to real‑time filtering, large datasets can be analyzed quickly and efficiently. The portal has since been further developed across three versions, with continuous improvements to functionality and usability.

Collaboration in practice

The collaboration between Harbers Solutions and GoClean originated from a shared sense of social responsibility. Harbers partially sponsors the hosting and development of the Zwerfafvalkompas and actively contributes ideas for optimization. The project followed an iterative approach, with room for experimentation, testing, and adjustment. Communication was open and constructive, with a shared focus on impact and user‑friendliness.

Results and impact

Thanks to the Zwerfafvalkompas, GoClean is able to translate large‑scale, structured research into concrete impact. During the Plastic PeukMeuk campaign, nearly 300 volunteers across 172 municipalities registered more than 280,000 cigarette filters. This data ultimately resulted in a report presented to the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

In addition, GoClean produces detailed reports for municipalities such as Amsterdam and Zandvoort, with the Zwerfafvalkompas forming the analytical foundation for policy advice.

The Zwerfafvalkompas also serves as the technical backbone of several large‑scale monitoring programs for Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Directorate‑General for Public Works and Water Management). These include litter measurements along national highways, monitoring at 40 fixed riverbank locations along the Rhine, Meuse, and IJssel rivers, and validation of riverbank inspections conducted from boats — where field observations and video recordings are linked and compared via the platform.

From street level to riverbanks, the Zwerfafvalkompas makes litter data reliable, traceable, and actionable for policy.

Future vision

GoClean sees many opportunities for further development of the Zwerfafvalkompas. One ambition is to add AI functionality in the future, enabling automatic trend detection and even smarter analyses. The collaboration with Harbers Solutions provides a solid foundation for this continued growth.