In the city, there is constantly litter scattered on the sidewalks and streets. Although there are quite a few trash cans placed on every block, some people still seem to put no effort whatsoever into getting rid of their trash. Obviously not everyone litters, but even a few people can create a big pileup.  Some people like to throw their trash at trash cans, and hope for the best, or simply drop their trash no matter where they are. This is a problem. Litter can very much hurt the earth. Many different objects that are thrown on the ground everyday contain toxic material that does harm to our planet. Litter can hurt important ecosystems and contaminate groundwater that runs off into the ocean. It also costs state and federal governments millions of dollars to pick up litter. This is not money we need to be spending. Litter is also very dangerous to us. It can cause accidents on the road, and cause injuries on the sidewalk. This is not necessary and can be stopped easily.

Our project, The Layup is an attachment to trash cans that can help eliminate litter and also limit the amount of rainwater collected in trash cans. It is a very useful object because many cities have a standard trash cans that has a wide opening at the top. Our project will be able to attach to these types of trash cans. This is key because there is quite a bit of litter in cities, and having this attachment around will make the streets cleaner. When you attach The Layup to the top of a trash can with a large opening at the top, you will see right away why it will helps eliminate litter. We have created a funnel system, with a backboard and basketball hoop over it to create a much more fun way to throw away your trash. In the funnel, we engraved a spiral that helps to guide rainwater out of the trash can. Our project raises an important question about rainwater. If there is any easy way to stop water from getting into the trash can, then how can we find a way to capture this water and put it to a good cause? There are many ways that The Layup could help out the world, but there are still many littering problems we need to solve.