A Hong Kong anti-littering campaign known as ‘Face of Litter’ has started putting the pressure on litterers around the city.

The group behind the project is taking DNA from trash to create a digital rendering of the person’s face. They have reconstructed 27 different faces using a technology called ‘SnapShot’, and prints out posters to put all around the city to shame the litterers publicly.

I know it sounds creepy but stay with me, there’s a point to it all.

The reason behind such a dramatic campaign is to publicly expose litterers and publicly shame them so they think again before dumping trash on the streets. Even if a person doesn’t see his or her face on the billboards, the fear of being on the next round of prints might be enough incentive to find a trash can next time.

The campaign started on Earth Day this year with a six week trash pickup challenge. In that time 4,000 tons of waste were picked up from the streets.

Hong Kong produces 6.5 million tons of trash each year, according to the campaign, which means it’s about time for a drastic change.

I think publicly shaming litterers is the bold move that more cities around the world need. It's time to stop the problem at the source and put an end to the damaging effects waste has on the environment.