Design for
Recycling Behavior
S-Award for Department of Human & Environmental Design Exhibition.
Design an artifact that can modify people's behavior in order to encourage more responsible recycling, with a specific focus on benefiting the Yonsei University community.
All Projects / Service Design
My Roles
Group leader, researcher,
product designer
Methods
Prototyping,
Design research,
Community-based learning
Duration
3 weeks, October 2021
Members
Fiona, Cindy, 최윤서
// 01 Overview
Each year, the world produces 78 million tonnes of plastic packaging, with 40% ending up in landfills.
"If you have ever been to South Korea, you would know that the trash system can be confusing and difficult to follow, leading to improper disposal and inadequate recycling."
This problem is especially prevalent in commercial districts such as Sinchon, Myeongdong, and Anam, where trash bags are often seen scattered on the streets.
Our objective is to create an artifact that can promote responsible recycling and encourage a positive change in people's behavior. The artifact will be designed using limited resources and will be focused on benefiting the Yonsei community.
// 02 Research & Findings
Research on the current existing trash recycling issues and problems. Conducting primary researches, contextual inquiries, surveys etc.
Lack of information;
public awareness
Assume all plastics are recyclable
Getting inconvenient to sort trash/disposing
Laziness, habits
Recycling Problem > Design problem:
Proper recycling & trash system
// Research result & Data collection
We designed a questionnaire (Demographic researches) on the Google Form as our Primary Research. In the questionnaire, we carefully asked participants about their backgrounds, and their experience of disposing trash in Korea.
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Said that they found the trash system convenient, “but they did not necessarily like the system.”
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“Many were indifferent (did not like/ no feeling) towards the trash disposal system.”
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“complaints about how it could be confusing, smelly, messy, and hard for them.” We found that disposing in front of the house is a major trash disposing policy in South Korea but many people don't necessarily follow all the recycling policies.
// 03 Concept development
1. Design a trash system that indicates correct trash disposable zone
2. Develop a waste disposal system that enhances street and neighborhood hygiene
3. Create a product that can help people comprehend street trash disposal regulations.
// 04 Prototyping & Testing
"Develop a series of stickers that provide clear guidelines for neighborhood trash zones, helping people understand the recycling system."
We made a good choice by using inexpensive but efficient color printed coated paper for the prototype, which saved us time. However, looking back, involving more Korean students to gather feedback from neighbors would have improved our project evaluation.
// QR Code
We have created two different QR codes and placed them beside the stickers to help people learn about the trash disposal system in each district. When someone scans the QR code, they will be directed to the official website where they can access information about the trash system, such as the designated days for waste disposal. These dynamic QR codes also enable us to track and test the number of people who scan and react to our codes.
// Findings
We created two separate codes for Seodaemun and Anam, but only received a total of seven scans, with four being from residents. The numbers were lower than expected, perhaps because residents were already familiar with the trash disposal system.
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However, we found that after two iterations, some residents, particularly those from the Anam district, improved their trash disposal behaviors.
// 1st Iteration & Testing
Locations 1 and 2 showed slow improvement as we only had four days to observe any changes in people's behavior. However, Location 3 was located near a commercial area with a large tourist population, making it difficult to accurately measure the effectiveness of our stickers.
Location 3, the left photo shows disorganized and messy trash despite new tape and stickers. The after photo didn't show much improvement, with some stickers and tape falling off and people not diligently sorting trash in the indicated zones.
// 2nd Iteration & Improvement
By interviewing people, we found:
1. Many people are unaware of the official trash bag requirements for each category, particularly for recyclable waste.
2. The lines that separate each categories and stickers are not clearly seen
Similarly, we observed slight improvement in location 1 and 2, but noticed that people in location 3 did not follow the rules during our one-week testing period, possibly due to its proximity to a large shopping mall.
// 05 Final Design & Evaluation
During the iterations, we aimed to test if people could understand and follow our instructions to separate trash into two different bags. However, we faced several obstacles while implementing our design on walls.
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Some walls being covered by government policies
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Owners taking down our design.
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The original sticker for the floor was not effective as it got covered by trash.
We monitored the testing site regularly and gathered feedback. The project could enhance street hygiene and trash disposal behavior of "Dispose in front of house" residents if proposed to officials. Peers emphasized the significance of visual elements and color, and we aim to improve recycling education by expanding sticker usage. Our efforts were recognized with the S-Award for the Department of Human & Environmental Design Exhibition at Yonsei University.
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