Israeli 'green game' idea wins int'l award

Shay Yalin, 38, an Israeli living in the Philippines, was named the winner of a recent international competition looking for "green" cell-phone games. Yalin moved Southeast Asia as part of his job. The self-proclaimed avid recycler came up with a concept for a new mobile devise-based game meant to encourage the recycling of plastic waste. The contest was promoted as part of Rio+20 – the UN summit on sustainable development that was held in Brazil in June. The judging panel was comprised of senior executives from industry giants such as Google, Volvo and Nike, and the top ideas were introduced in the summit – an honor Yalin was oblivious to. "I actually forgot all about it, until the letter telling me I had won came," he told Ynet. The game – "PET Race" – is both web-based and cell-based and promotes a weekly contest for keen players. Yalin's concept entails having major soft drink companies hold individual contests focusing on the recycling of bottles. Players would be able to register online or via the app. Each contest would last up to one week and the players would have to update their accounts with the number of bottles collected. At the end of each contest, the bottles will be delivered to designated collection points, where the winners will also collect their prizes. Yalin told Ynet that he has been contacted by several companies seeking to make the concept a reality. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter