GluttoNY by digital media artist Jarah Moesch is an online game where users can explore and reflect upon our gross indulgence in excess by picking through trash as they walk through the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City.

Many of the trashed items are neither worn out nor broken beyond repair. What if instead of going out with the trash, these items were donated or re-used?

Using the arrows on the keyboard, the player can pick up found objects by clicking with the mouse. As s/he collects them, small facts pop up about the objects, the materials they are made of, as well as recycling and proper removal of waste.

At the end, the user finds a gallery of their collected objects. They can use them to create art, a collage house, etc.

With the game, Jarah hopes to encourage people to think about precycling; the idea that we have choices in what we buy, and to raise awareness to how mass pop-culture and market capitalism induce us to purchase things we don’t really want or need.

Via Third Place Gallery.